Volunteers team to clean channel

Over 150 volunteers from all walks of life and both sides of the Colorado River joined forces to clean the Bridgewater Channel Saturday.

“We all want a clean lake,” said organizer Kathy Weydig with the Lake Havasu Divers Association.

Divers and crews working the shore pulled up hundreds of pounds of beer cans, shopping carts, beach chairs, assorted other trash and dozens of 55-gallon drums.

“And there’s a ton more still down there,” Weydig said.

A diver would flag the drums until they could get enough divers to team to pull it through the water to shore.

“I must have burned about 500 pounds of air pulling that last drum out,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Dane Thomas. “It was filled with mud.”

Volunteers from the Western Arizona Humane Society waded into the water to take the trash from the divers and hand it off to members of Lake Havasu City Cub Scout Troop 85 and Girl Scout Troop 1585 to separate.

Meanwhile the London Bridge Yacht Club prepared a barbeque to keep the workers fed and the Lake Havasu Marine Association donated trash bags.

“Even the Donut Post helped out, coming down on their own with donuts and coffee for the volunteers,” Weydig said. “The best part are the scouts, getting an education about the lake. So that maybe they think twice about tossing a soda can in the water. Or stop adults from trashing the water.”

Weydig is also working with the Lake Havasu City Police Dept. and Chief Dan Doyle, who gave the go-ahead on the project. She said they are partnering for a Waterfront Challenge grant for more clean ups.

“When I applied, they said this was the first application for an in-water clean up they’ve received. Normally they focus on shoreline clean ups,” Weydig said. “So if we get the grant, we’re thinking about doing Copper Canyon after Memorial Day. Jim (Salscheider) and the Marine Association have partnered with Chemehuevi Tribe to clean the California side so I think we can make it happen. Plus the deputies from san Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said they will help us too.”

Saturday’s clean up was the second in-water clean of Lake Havasu. Two years ago, the Lake Havasu Divers Association partnered with the Bureau of Land Management to clean the area of Windsor Bay off Site Five as part of National Public Lands Day.

You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com.