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Installation of a litter boom at Chattanooga Creek

The City of Chattanooga, in partnership with WaterWays, has begun a new litter initiative to keep the Chattanooga Creek clean.

NOOGAtoday | Litter boom

The Chattanooga Creek litter boom is a first of its kind in Tennessee.

Photo provided by the City of Chattanooga

A new environmental-friendly initiative has begun to keep Chattanooga Creek clean — one of the city’s most historically polluted waterways.

The City of Chattanooga + WaterWays have installed an Osprey Initiative litter boom in the area between the Riverwalk and the railroad trestle with the hopes to collect debris from the main source. The boom acts as a floating barrier that will catch and prevent litter from floating further downstream.

WaterWays secured funding for the boom through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Five Stars and Urban Waters Restoration Grant program.

“When paddlers come out to Chattanooga Creek or when folks walk along the Riverwalk and see it, they will understand the impact we all have on our local environment.” — WaterWays Executive Director Mary Beth Sutton

Osprey Initiative will maintain the boom for the first six months under the grant funding + after that time period, local nonprofit Wild Trails will manage the litter collection device with its ongoing efforts to keep Chattanooga Creek clean.

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