In the aftermath of a wave of severe thunderstorms that hit the area in quick succession, residents banded together to help clean up after the Back River trash boom broke, sending trash and debris into the river.
The Back River Restoration Committee (BRRC) organized a storm clean up on Saturday, June 15. About 20 committee members and volunteers met at Cox’s Point Park at 8 a.m. to begin the cleanup effort. Some used boats and barges to tow large pieces of debris, while others donned waders to pick up the smaller plastic bottles and sticks lining the shoreline from the Back River Bridge all the way to Cox’s Point Park.
“The debris couldn’t make it around the point because the wind blew it into the shore,” said Larry Farinetti, chairman of the BRRC.
Saturday’s cleanup lasted four hours and filled three, 30-cubic-yard dumpsters with debris amounting to approximately 20 tons. Even with this impressive effort, Farinetti said that only about a third of the shoreline was cleared.
“Riverside Drive residents and BRRC volunteers worked on Sunday as well and will work through the week,” Farinetti said.
Boom manager Clark Testerman estimated that 100 tons of trash and debris had been released since the boom broke sometime after 5 p.m. on Monday, June 10, as a result of the thunderstorm that brought tornadoes to several Maryland towns.
“We had five inches of rain in only 30 hours,” said Farinetti. The volume of water swelled the river and brought debris (including 50 tires and a massive 90-foot tree) from the entire watershed, which extends as far as Herring Point in Towson, flooding into Back River, overwhelming the boom and pulling the four, six-foot-long anchors out of the ground. An additional boat anchor kept the boom relatively close to the 695 Bridge, but tons of debris still went through the boom and into marinas, parks, and backyards.
This is the third time the boom has broken, but Testerman said that “it’s much worse than before because the boom is mangled, too,” from debris ensnared in or under it.
This means that repairs may take a week or two, according to Farinetti. For one thing, “we have to wait for high tide to move the really big trees, and we only get two of those a day.”
Testerman said that they have ordered new booms to replace the ones damaged. The initial grant from Baltimore County contained money for two new booms per year, but Testerman thinks this repair will require four, so additional funding sources will be needed.
In the two years and two months it has been operational, the Back River boom has caught a total of 415 tons of trash and debris which were removed by the county.
Overall, the cleanup effort was a success, showing how the community can band together to help each other.
Farinetti praised, “The BRRC cannot accomplish their goals without community support. We are amazed at how many people truly care about Back River and appreciate all that they do.”
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