Delta waterway nearly clear of junk, toxic debris
Roman Gokham
Contra Costa Times
02/20/2011
It has taken longer than expected, and cost more than originally thought, but the cleanup of junk, hazardous waste and asbestos in the Delta between Bradford and Webb Tract islands is set to be completed in June.
Two remaining sunken vessels in Fisherman's Cut will be towed away and scrapped, marking the end of an effort that kicked off in March.
"Fifteen years of dump is almost completely gone," Contra Costa Sheriff's Sgt. Doug Powell said. "Fisherman's Cut will be restored to its natural habitat. People are using that cut again. They're actually water skiing out there."
From 1999 to 2002, a task force that included the Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and other agencies tried to clean up the mess but failed.
"No one had any money," said Powell, the former commander of the sheriff's marine patrol. "Since then, it has gotten worse. A lot of the boats that were floating before had sunk."
In the interim, the county took several steps to discourage boaters from dumping new junk at Fisherman's Cut and other waterways.
In 2005, Contra Costa supervisors signed an ordinance to increase fines for leaving boats moored for an extended period of time. Powell said he knows that the ordinance was successful because boaters started dumping their vessels in nearby counties instead.
Solano, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties eventually adopted similar ordinances, he said.
A newer state law allows the Sheriff's Office to tow boats that had let their registration lapse by a year.
The effort to clean up the channel began in earnest last March. The Sheriff's Office secured a grant from the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery to remove commercial vessels, vehicle batteries, engine oil, fuel, asbestos, lead-based paint and other toxic refuse from the waterway.
The project was a first for the department, which is responsible for cleaning up illegal solid waste disposal sites and tracking down those who leave the messes. While it routinely cleans messes on land, the Delta project was its first on water.
Powell said he was able to persuade the state department of the dire need for the grant.
"If these toxic dump sites were on land, getting ready to leach into our waterway, they would be jumping up and down to clean this up," he said. "This was already in the water."
In March, crews hauled away sunken barges and cranes, tore down dilapidated houses, and removed car tires and other trash that had been dumped there.
The cost of the project, initially expected to take several weeks, jumped from $465,000 to $580,000, said Todd Thalhamer, waste management engineer at the resources, recycling and recovery department. The work was halted in late May. "We ran out of money," Thalhamer said. "We had a yearly allocation, and we stopped before we exceeded it."
Said Powell: "Whatever takes a day on land takes five days on the water."
The remaining two vessels are a 77-foot-long prototype Higgins boat, a vessel that served as a quick-attack naval boat in World War II, and a 55-foot-long tug boat.
The Sheriff's Office secured a $100,000 grant from the California Water Resources Control Board to remove them. But the U.S. Coast Guard may complete the removal instead, Thalhamer said.
If that's the case, the grant will go toward removing waste and debris from other water-bound spots in Contra Costa County.
