Lockmaster: Not Responsible For Trash Pick-up

Morgantown Dominion Post
24 June 2014
Anthony Pecoraro

MORGANTOWN — The Monongahela River had large amounts of debris and trash — ranging from car tires to plastic bottles — floating through the Morgantown section of the river on Tuesday, June 24.

The Morgantown Lock and Dam released debris and trash because the lift chains needed to be lubricated to keep them working properly, Bob Smith, area lockmaster of the Upper Monongahela River, said.

“They’re out in the weather continually, which requires them to receive periodic lubrication on all the joints, so they don’t hang up,” he said.

By raising the gates, the trash and debris that is held by the gates gets released downstream into the Mon. It is uncertain whether anyone will pick up the trash.

However, Smith said the cleanup process is not his responsibility and he is clueless as to whether a single item will be picked from the Mon.

“I have no clue, I couldn’t tell you. In the past, there were efforts to try to pick up as much as they could, but as far as this time — I really couldn’t tell you,” he said. “It’s not my responsibility to ensure that it is picked up.”