Hickory – The City of Hickory is partnering with Catawba Riverkeeper to install and maintain a stream trash trap on Horseford Creek in Glenn Hilton Park.
A trash trap is a tactical in-stream litter collection device used to capture floating litter from stormwater runoff.
When it rains, trash along roadsides and other types of pollution that harm aquatic life and degrade water quality run off into storm drains and get carried into local waterways. Stormwater litter accounts for 75% of the manmade trash in urban creeks and streams.
In Hickory, litter passes through the storm drain system into the Catawba River Basin. Once installed, the new stream trash trap will sit in Horseford Creek to collect trash before it enters the Catawba River.
The device will be cleaned and maintained by Catawba Riverkeeper staff and volunteers at least twice a month and after notification of heavy rainfall. The staff and volunteers will clean the downstream area as well.
After trash collection, all litter will be sorted, documented, and recycled, as allowed. Training and recruitment of volunteers will be performed by Catawba Riverkeeper, as well as maintenance of the trash trap itself.
“Managing litter once it’s in the waterway is time consuming and requires many hours of devotion just to be undone by the next heavy rain event,” said Jason White, stormwater engineer for the City of Hickory. “Capturing trash before it reaches the river is easier and more efficient than multiple litter sweeps.”
The City of Hickory and Catawba Riverkeeper will use the trash trap to prevent litter from entering main waterways and to help educate the community on the causes and impacts of stormwater pollution. The program is a gateway to public education and outreach that will help get the community involved in stream cleanups and general litter awareness.
This partnership will help to fulfill the City’s regulatory requirements for stormwater management and further demonstrates the City’s commitment to protecting local water sources from litter and other forms of stormwater pollution.
Catawba Riverkeeper currently maintains four trash traps across the Carolinas: Mill Creek (Old Fort), Freedom Park (Charlotte), Duhart Creek (Gastonia), and Steele Creek (Rock Hill, S.C.). The trash trap in Hickory will be the fifth trash trap added to protect the Catawba River Basin.
The new trash trap will be installed on Horseford Creek this spring.
For more information about stormwater management and litter reduction efforts, please visit www.hickorync.gov. To learn more about Catawba Riverkeeper and volunteer opportunities, visit www.catawbariverkeeper.org.
A trash trap collects litter in a stream
