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Livingston and Ascension volunteers join forces to clean up the Amite River
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ASCENSION PARISH- Trash in the Amite River has been an issue for years, but Saturday dozens of people joined forces to clean up the River.
It's all part of a project called The Amite River Clean Up.
Boaters from both Livingston and Ascension Parish were out and about hauling in large debris and dumping the trash.
The last river cleaning was back in 2009 but the community felt it was time to revisit the idea and clean the river that runs through three parishes.
"I live on the river, I spend a lot of time on the river and I don't like seeing all the junk in it," said John Templet, with the Ascension Parish Waterway Commission.
After the 2016 floods, the Amite river turned into more of a dumping channel, making it unsafe and hard for boaters to enjoy recreational activities.
"Many people live on the river, and I am out on the river sometimes it's important to keep it clean just because you know all the activities," said Jadon Shirley, a volunteer.
"A lot of the trash that is here is from the 2016 flood," Templet said.
Lots of people came out to assist the effort including U.S. Representative Garrett Graves and local law enforcement.
"We are going to be investing three billion dollars in federal funds for flood protection," said Graves.
That federal funding will go towards projects such as the Comite River Diversion Canal Project to provide these parishes with quality flood control.
This type of flood control is expected to help protect rivers such as the Amite. After Saturday's clean up, organizers expect to collect about three to four tons of debris.
Organizers plan to host another river clean up sometime next year during the spring.
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