The Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup begins with just a few dive shops and recreational divers seeking to turn their passion into environmental stewardship; ensuring their passion for diving will last for years to come. Little did they know, their efforts would turn in to the largest underwater and lake shore line cleanup in Texas. With the thought of improving the underwater view, divers approached the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Friends of the Colorado River Foundation in 1995 to solicit their support for a cleanup of underwater areas at Lake Travis. In that first year, 300 volunteers collected 120 large bags of trash and 900 pounds of scrap metal.
As many as 300 volunteer divers will participate in an underwater cleanup of Lake Travis from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Divers will pick up submerged appliances, boat batteries and other debris from areas including Starnes Island, Lake Travis Lodge, Volente Beach, Bob Went Park at Windy Point, Oasis Bluff, Tom Hughes Park and Mansfield Dam. There will be a barbecue and awards ceremony after the cleanup. Divers from dive shops around the state and diving teams from the Department of Public Safe ty and the Lower Colorado River Authority will participate in the effort. The Coast Guard Auxiliary will operate boats to help divers and divert boat traffic from the divers. The cleanup is sponsored by Friends of the Colorado River Foundation. Families needed to host exchange students Austin-area families are needed to host high school students from Denmark, Belgium, Italy and elsewhere who are coming to the United States in an exchange program organized by the Educational Resource Development Trust. Marie-Claude Dijoud, regional director for the nonprofit foundation, said the students range from 15 to 18 years in age, have their own insurance and spending money and are eager to experience American daily life, including chores. Host families are expected to provide room, board and friendship for the students who will arrive in August to attend one or two semesters at public high schools in the Austin area. Anyone interested in hosting a student should contact Richard Manson at (512) 442-0379 or (800) 567- 3738. Hispanic Women's Network seeks nominees The Austin Chapter of the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas is seeking nominations for Hispanic women who are leaders in the Austin community. Nominations will be accepted in six different categories: arts, business, community service, education, government and student achievement. The deadline is Aug. 11. Recipients of the awards will be honored at the organization's annual scholarship banquet in September. For applications, call 602- 2329. DATE: July 12, 1995 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman PAGE: B4 COLUMN: LOCAL BRIEFS
Before the Lake Travis Cleanup began in 1995, individual efforts by local dive shops were grass roots efforts. This article from from July 23, 1989 highlights one such cleanup. Scuba divers cleaning up litter from the floor of Lake Travis Saturday found the usual - cans, bottles and other small debris. They also found the not-so-usual - boat motors and a Ford Pinto station wagon. It all represents a growing problem that only fish and divers have to deal with - growing mounds of trash stacking up on the floor of Lake Travis. "We are just tired of seeing it," said Tom McCoy, manager of Scuba Point. "It's pretty bad; in some places the litter is as deep as 10 to 15 feet. Underneath the different marinas is really bad. You can find anything thrown in there from cigarette butts to vehicles such as cars and boats." Sponsors said the turnout for the third annual lake cleanup was less than expected and the cleanup will be extended to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. More than 30 divers picked up garbage bags at Scuba Dive, at 11401 RR 2222, but only about two-thirds of the group returned. They brought with them a haul of 30 hefty bags full of litter plucked from the lake bottom, said Tim Griffith, the organizer of the cleanup. The event also was sponsored by Texas Disposal Systems. Divers participating in the cleanup Saturday placed most of the blame for the underwater litter on crowds of people who use the lake during the weekends. Randy and Ruth Ann Frazier, who came from Dallas to dive, said they were surprised to find so much trash on the bottom of the lake. "I don't think the divers do it because they are down there and they know what's going on," Fraizer said. "The litter is destroying the lake for future use. You fill the lake up with trash and the fish go away. You go down there to see the things that you don't see from the surface." Bob Borger, who was cleaning up in the Mansfield Dam Recreation area, said it was hard to believe that people would litter such a beautiful area. "I'm surprised that they can do it," Borger said. "I guess when you float out in raft and you got an empty can it's easy to litter because nobody sees it but the divers." "It does not make any sense to throw trash out of a boat into the water when you brought it there in a boat," he said. Griffith said he started the cleanup effort three years ago after he and a friend noticed that the amount of trash on the lake floor was increasing and the type of litter was changing to include larger items. Divers, who usually make an effort to pick up bottles and cans, were now finding boat motors, car batteries and larger oil drums, he said. "We were hoping to spark some concern," Griffith said. "Austin is a pretty clean town and there is no reason that the lake bottom shouldn't be clean. Because it's a nice diving area, people come from all over the state to use Lake Travis. They are not going to keep coming if the lake gets a reputation for being full of trash. If we could get that trash to float, everybody would be complaining." People who want to participate in the lake cleanup can pick up bags at Scuba Dive and they will receive free air fillups for their scuba tanks. "We leave it wide open for people to clean up any part of the lake," McCoy said. "We just want to get people involved. Not only do we want them to clean up the lake, but we want them to be aware of how bad it's getting. If we could just make people aware of what they are doing maybe they will stop doing it." BYLINE: Brenda J. Breaux AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN DATE: July 23, 1989 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman EDITION: FINAL SECTION: CITY/STATE PAGE: B1
July 16, 1995- They found no gold, just $11 in cash, and the rest of the loot was garbage. The real payoff in this sunken treasure hunt was simply a cleaner Lake Travis. Two hundred volunteer divers descended into the reservoir northwest of Austin on Saturday for the first water pipe and a two-way, extendable roach clip. ``The majority of stuff was cans and bottles. ... e found a lot of (used) fireworks,'' said diver Suzanne Zarling, who works in land management for the Lower Colorado River Authority. Engine blocks, boat batteries and a sunken trailer were retrieved with the help of a crane. The trash was hauled ashore and sorted and will berecycled. ``They said (the water below) Oasis Bluff is disgusting,'' f oundation spokeswoman Paige Gibson said. ``Next year, I think we'll move it to Sunday so we can get more (dive) shops to participate. It was a resounding success.'' Boy Scouts from Buffalo Den Pack 39 manned Starnes Island, picking up plastic, a dead fish and beer cans. Rumors circulated about a monster catfish, said to weigh 250 pounds. ``To be honest with you ... I give him 100,'' diver James T. Morris said, explaining that everything looks bigger through a diving mask. Divers have ``adopted'' Lake Travis in a program sponsored by the foundation, modeled on the state's Adopt-A-Highway program. The foundation monitors water quality, sponsors river and land cleanups and promotes environmental awareness. Around noon, everyone gathered for barbecue and the presentation of awards. Pisces Dive Shop on Oasis Bluff won for most trash collected -- 37 bags of it. Aquatic Adventures, an Austin dive shop, won for most unusual item -- a dining room table. If there had been such a category, Zarling would have won most valuable item for the $10 bill and $1 bill she found floating together. ``Of course I kept it,'' she said. BYLINE: Leigh Hopper DATE: July 16, 1995 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman PAGE: B1
Results: 300 Total volunteers 7 tons of trash removed
If someone out there is wondering what happened to a portable toilet that disappeared near Lake Travis, there's good news and bad news. The good news is, it's been found and soon will be disposed of properly. The bad news is, it was found in the lake. Volunteers participating in a cleanup Sunday found the portable toilet on the bottom of the lake, along with a lot of other junk including aluminum cans, old tires and a bag of exceedingly well- soaked black-eyed peas. Some items weren't so readily recognizable. Tallying items brought in by a dredging vessel, lead volunteer Patrick Basinski studied a blue plastic box full of wires and transistors. ``Unidentified electronic, uh, thing,'' Basinski said. ``Looks like the first- ever pager.'' Volunteers also found what they thought was part of the remains of a sunken houseboat, including a kitchen sink and disposer unit, mop bucket and another toilet. Some 300 divers volunteered for Sunday's second annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, sponsored by the Friends of the Colorado River Foundation, with assists from the Lower Colorado River Authority and local businesses. The divers' efforts were supplemented by about 75 volunteers who scoured the land around the lake, picking up more debris that had been left behind when lake waters receded because of drought conditions. Although some items, like old boat batteries, contain potentially hazardous chemicals, LCRA water-quality specialist John Trevino said the main thrust of the cleanup is to keep the lake looking good. ``It's really an aesthetic problem,'' Trevino said. That's especially important to divers because they're the ones who can see the debris deposited underwater, said event coordinator Autumn Rich. Diver Walt Kowalski of the See Sea Divers Club, said he sometimes dives in the lake and volunteered ``just to help out and to have a purpose to get out in the lake and dive.'' Much of what the volunteers brought in, whether from along the shore or deep in the lake, will be recycled, Rich said. The bulk of the debris, she said, is made up of bottles, aluminum cans or steel parts from boat motors, which can be recycled. Other items -- like a muddy, water-logged electric fan -- will go into the trash. The tally wasn't complete Sunday, but last year's cleanup brought in 2,500 cans, 13 bags of glass bottles, 18 55-gallon drums and a dining room table, among other things. Susan Jackson, who came with a dive group called Eels on Wheels, said one benefit of the cleanup is that it helps draw attention to the growing problem of trash in the lake. ``It makes people more aware,'' she said. The message appears to have gotten through to members of Boy Scout Troop 158 from Cedar Park, who volunteered for the second year in a row. The boys said they found plenty to pick up along the shoreline. ``Underwear, some beer, an inflatable lawn chair and snorkels,'' said Mike Marsden, 13, shaking his head. ``There are better places to put trash.'' ``It's pathetic that people just throw their trash down,'' said James Chapman, 15. BYLINE: JODI BERLS DATE: July 22, 1996 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX) EDITION: Final SECTION: Metro/State PAGE: B3
Results: 715 Total volunteers 4.6 Tons of trash removed
Carrying a bag of trash so big that it masked all but the 10-year-old's legs, Edward Castro Jr. had no doubt about his mission. He fishes with his dad on Lake Travis, he said, and the mission Saturday was ``saving our environment by cleaning up the river. If we don't clean up the river, we're going to have dead fish and dead other animals.'' Edward was one of 800 people, more than 600 of them scuba divers, who volunteered Saturday for the third annual Underwater Cleanup on Lake Travis, sponsored by Friends of the Lower Colorado River Foundation. At 13 points around the lake, divers collected bottles and cans, boat seats, tires, at least one toilet, a barbecue grill and other assorted junk. They bagged it and put it in boats that hauled the stuffto a collection point on shore. What can be recycled will be, and the rest will be disposed of in a more appropriate place than the Colorado. The good news, the foundation's Autumn Rich said, is that only 13 tires and one boat battery were found, a significant drop-off from previous cleanups, despite this year's heavy flooding. Rich attributed that reduction to the success of the previous two efforts. Bill Flenniken, of the Oak Hill Scuba dive club, noticed the trend. ``It's getting better,'' he said. ``The divers had to hunt a little more this year to find trash.'' UT student Matt Oseto said that in previous years, divers found a couple of diamond engagement rings, which, through inscriptions on the jewelry, they were able to return to the owners. Oseto's big find Saturday didn't quite match up. It was a rusted set of box springs. Divers worked as far out as 200 yards from shore and as deep as 120 feet. In all, 268 bags of trash were hauled out of the lake, whichRich called ``the clearest reservoir in Texas.'' (From Box) Cleanup finds, facts From the third annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup: *Most valuable item found-a dive computer, which measures depth, valued at about $1,000, found by a member of the Oak Hill Scuba Team. Coincidentally, that team had donated a new dive computer to be raffled. *Most unusual item--an intact, reparable bicycle. *Largest dive team--Oak Hill Scuba, with 110 divers. *Most trash gathered--122 bags by the Pisces Scuba (Lake Travis) Dive Team. BYLINE: Mike Kelley DATE: September 15, 1997 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX) EDITION: Final SECTION: Metro/State PAGE: B1
More than 600 divers gathered trash from the bottom of Lake Travis and 75 tackled the shoreline. Seventeen diving teams signed up for the event, giving it the highest number of participanting teams since its inaugural cleanup in 1995. Results: 675 Total Volunteers 5.52 Tons of total trash removed
Recognized by PADI's Project Aware Foundation as a first time organizer with a plaque and in the first quarter issue of PADI's Undersea Journal.
Tropical Storm Frances led the LCRA to postpone the annual cleanup effort.
Results: 890 Total Volunteers 7.18 Tons of trash removed
When old wheelbarrows, Swiss army watches, underwear, VCRs, antique parking meters and picnic tables appear in the same place, it might be a garage sale. But on Sunday, these sundries turned up at the bottom of Lake Travis. More than 700 certified scuba divers of all ages scoured the 64-mile, 19,000-acre lake during Sunday's fifth annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup. They scooped up 544 bags of garbage and 750 pounds of scrap metal, and hauled the loot to boats afloat at 16 dive locations. The boats, in turn, brought the garbage to Emerald Point, and from there it was taken to area dumps. ``All summer long we get to play in the river,'' said Linda Rife, a board member of Friends of the Colorado River and a spokeswoman for BFI Waste Systems, the company in charge of hauling off the garbage. ``This is our way of paying it back." The most heavily trafficked areas of Lake Travis get cleaned each year because the lake is the most popular of the Highland Lakes. The lake gets busier every summer, meaning that there's more trash, said Lower Colorado River Authority spokeswoman Mary Ann Neely. Divers typically pre-sort the trash because it's too slimy to handle easily once onshore, Rife said. The day's most valuable discard was $208 in cash in plastic bags. Other oddities were an 80-pound bolt, a blanket, a sleeping bag and a barbecue grill -- plus a pair of silk panties and a man's athletic supporter. ``Be careful what you throw into Lake Travis, because sooner or later, the incriminating evidence will show up,'' said LCRA spokesman Joel Shuler. Rick Frithiof, a first-time cleanup dive participant and an LCRA dam engineer, bobbed up and down off Little Devil's Hollow, noting that the waters of Lake Travis eventually end up pouring through Austin faucets. ``It would be nice if Austin took the chance to realize that the lake is not the place for trash,'' he said. Three car and boat batteries were found Sunday, half the number found in 1998. A group of divers near Starnes Island found a 50-pound storage drum, which was too heavy to bring to the surface. Past cleanups of the lake have yielded a 20-foot sailboat and a tent in perfect condition, in addition to potted plants, lawn chairs, diamond rings, cellular phones, eight-track cassette players and tricycles. It's not unusual for divers to find swimsuits around the Hippie Hollow area, event coordinators said. The garbage -- typically bottles and cans and scrap metal -- is recycled whenever possible, Rife said. Tires, 12 of which were found during Sunday's cleanup, are shredded. No policy save ``finders, keepers'' applies to booty like watches and engagement rings. Two Austin men, B.J. Holland, 36, and Nick Simons, 41, emerged from the lake pushing a leaky wheelbarrow they found beneath the waves near Emerald Point. While still underwater, they had filled it with their spoils: empty bottles and cans, a silver-toned serving dish lid and a full bottle of Corona beer. Tom Ruiz, a 29-year-old computer technician who lives in Austin, helped clean the lake last year as well, showing that cleaning Lake Travis is a labor of love for area scuba divers. ``It is like going to the pool and cleaning up afterward,'' he said. ``That way, it is fair for us to use the lake.'' BYLINE: Marty Beard DATE: September 20, 1999 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX) EDITION: Final SECTION: Metro/State PAGE: B3
Lower than average lake levels have exposed potential navigational hazards, which become the primary issue driving cleanup efforts.
The LCRA Board approved agenda item #38 to disburse funds of $200,000 from the Flood Disaster Recovery Fund to clean up navigational and environmental hazards on Lake Travis.
Shoreline Development and Chapman Marine begin cleanup effort to remove navigational and safety hazards along the waters edge as part of the LCRA's Board approval to clean the lake bottom.
Two weeks and 50 tons of trash later, the Lower Colorado River Authority's barge and crane operators are bringing an end to to first phase of Keep Travis Clean 2000 - a Lake Travis cleanup of unprecedented proportions. Barge and crane cleanup crews pulled from the lake's water debris that included: 15 boats, 12 boat docks, 8 vehicles, 5 refrigerators, and more than 250 metal drums.
Cars. Steel drums. A 30-foot houseboat.They're not sunken treasure by any standard, but Lake Travis officials wanted to retrieve them anyway. The Lower Colorado River Authority has toiled since mid-September to remove more than 50 tons of large debris from the depths of Lake Travis. Today, volunteers will gather at Emerald Point Marina to help finish the job, disposing of small litter in and along the lake. The LCRA, which has sponsored a smaller underwater cleanup since 1995, is taking advantage of the lake's lower levels to remove large, partially submerged objects, said event coordinator Bart Loeser . Today's cleanup is being done on a larger scale to increase public awareness. Among the hundreds of volunteers will be 16 dive teams charged with retrieving trash from Mansfield Dam to Lakeway. Other agencies, such as Keep Texas Beautiful and the Colorado River Foundation, are pitching in, Loeser said. The tidying detail follows the efforts of a half-dozen boats, barges and cranes, which dragged the water for large debris over 3 1/2 weeks, said John Williams, an LCRA spokesman. The debris was towed in to be recycled or disposed. The haul included tons of metal, tires, wood and less conventional objects such as cars and batteries. Most of that probably was swept in, either from previous floods or severe storms, Williams said. LCRA officials invested $200,000 in the project from a budget usually reserved for flood assistance. ``Obviously, we're having almost exactly the opposite of a flood right now, so we're taking it as an opportunity to do this,'' Loeser said. More debris remains buried in Lake Travis, Loeser said, and eventually the LCRA would like to expand the project to include more areas along the Colorado River. ``The lake goes on and on from Lakeway,'' he said. ``We haven't even begun to deal with areas beyond that yet.'' You may contact Erik Rodriguez at erodriguez@statesman.com or (512) 392-8750. (from box) What did they find? LCRA officials scoured the depths of Lake Travis to eliminate large debris from the lake bottom. Here's what they found: * 12,000 pounds of scrap metal * 5,000 pounds of wood * 250 steel drums * 178 tires * 19 batteries * 15 boats * 12 boat docks * 8 automobiles * 5 refrigerators * 1 5-foot paddlewheel * 1 30-foot houseboat Keep Lake Travis Clean 2000 The cleanup will start at the Emerald Point Marina today and last from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information about the LCRA's shoreline and underwater cleanups, visit www.lcra.org. BYLINE: Erik Rodriguez, American-Statesman Staff DATE: October 14, 2000 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman SECTION: Metro/State PAGE: B3
Expectations of nearly 800 volunteers at 10 sites.
Results: 1,000 Total volunteers 11.37 Tons of trash removed
More than 1,000 volunteers pitched in to help clean up Lake Travis from the banks to the bed. About 700 of the volunteers were scuba divers who went underwater to help in the effort. The Lower Colorado River Authority has been sponsoring the Lake Travis Underwater Clean Up for 10 years now. They say the divers’ enthusiasm for their spot is as clear as Lake Travis’ water. "It's a real tight-knit community with the divers, and the popularity is increasing every year. Lake Travis is the clearest lake in Texas and it’s where they dive," Tara Rector of LCRA said. Volunteers - both above the water and under it - collected 800 bags and 10 tons of trash. Some of the more intriguing items picked up include action figures, cell phones and barbeque grills. By: News 8 Austin Staff
Once again Keep Austin Beautiful teamed up with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), the Colorado River Foundation and Travis County for the 10th Annual underwater and shoreline cleanup. In 2003, a record number of volunteers hauled out and recycled 11.37 tons of trash from Lake Travis, benefiting all who live along and enjoy the natural beauty of the lake. This year about 1,000 volunteers came together from local schools, churches, the dive community and youth groups as well as individual residents of greater Austin and Travis County to remove trash from the bottom of Lake Travis and the shoreline that runs along the water’s edge. Volunteers spent half a day at one of 13 dive sites and 8 parks. Results: 1,000 Total volunteers 8.5 Tons of trash removed
LCRA Ranger Jennifer Bailey spends her days patrolling Lake Travis. KVUE News A gas grill was among the trash pulled from Lake Travis. She knows firsthand how dangerous debris can be for swimmers, divers and jet skiers. "There are fishing lines, hooks, beer bottles, cans they can slice themselves on, so it's quite dangerous," Bailey said. On Saturday, more than 1,000 volunteers set out to clean up Lake Travis. Volunteers from Eels on Wheels, an organization for disabled divers, choose to tidy up Starns Island. "We come out here to have a good time and to enjoy the beautiful lake and just to see glass bottles Styrofoam paper it messes everything up," said Sherri Anderson. KVUE Online Video KVUE's Quita Culpepper reports While some like Anderson clean up on land. Bubbles on the lake surface where divers are deep below, also gathering up garbage hour after hour they haul in bag after bag of trash. The dive teams have been finding mostly small stuff on the bottom of the lake this year, like beer cans, even hair clips. But some volunteers did find tires, mops, lawn chairs and a barbeque grill. Volunteers removed 800 bags of trash from the lake -- 10 tons.
This year marks the 11th anniversary of the Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, an event that’s crucial to the health of this Central Texas landmark. Each year, nearly 1,000 shoreline and underwater volunteers come together to help reverse the damage that increased tourist and recreational traffic has on the Lake. Last year alone, over 900 dive and shoreline volunteers collected over 8.5 tons of trash from the lake bottom and shoreline. What an accomplishment! On Sunday, September 18, the Colorado River Foundation, Keep Austin Beautiful, Travis County and LCRA will team up again for this landmark cleanup event. Volunteers will gather from across the region to pitch in, have fun, and do their part to help keep Lake Travis clean. Planning is underway to secure sponsorships and donations, recruit volunteers, and organize the post-cleanup celebration, complete with door prizes, t-shirts and a free lunch. We owe great thanks to the marinas, dive shops, local Lake Travis businesses and volunteers for their ongoing participation in this event. Emerald Point Marina, Chapman Marine, West Beach Marina and Marshall Ford Marina, along with Shoreline Development, organize boat support for the dive volunteers, helping them access dive locations and haul off tons of trash. Carlos’N Charlie’s, DayBreak Boat Rentals, Beach Front Boat Rentals, Conlee Boat Docks, Spillar Boat Docks and Just For Fun are just a few of the many other businesses that help make the cleanup such a success year after year. Results: 1200 Volunteers 10 Tons of trash removed
More than 1,000 dive and shoreline volunteers were needed to help remove tons of trash and debris from the shoreline and bottom of Lake Travis during the 12th Annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup on Sunday, September 10th, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Last year, more than 1,200 volunteers collected over 5 tons of trash from the lake and parks that surround it. What began in 1994 as an informal gathering of local dive shops has grown dramatically each year. The event is now managed by a partnership among the Colorado River Foundation, Keep Austin Beautiful, Travis County, and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The event is made possible through the participation of local marinas, boat rental operations, community groups, and the following Austin-area dive shops: Austin Aqua Sports, Clearwater Divers, Deep Blue Scuba, Dive World Scuba Centers, Oak Hill Scuba, Pisces Scuba Club, Scubaland Adventures, Tom’s Dive & Swim and the University Scuba Club. Sponsors of the event include Alcoa, Budweiser, Lakeway Resort & Spa, Carlos’N Charlie’s, Emerald Point Marina and NewsRadio 590 KLBJ. Results: 1200 Total Volunteers 5 tons of trash removed
More than 1,000 dive and shoreline volunteers are expected to remove tons of trash and debris from the shoreline and bottom of Lake Travis during the 13th Annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup on Sunday, September 9th, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Last year at this time the severe drought had caused extremely low water levels at Lake Travis, dropping the Lake to the lowest it had been since 2000. This year the unusual summer rains have lifted the region out of the drought and filled the Lakes. But the heavy rains and flooding have also overfilled the Lake throughout much of the summer, causing closures, boating bans, reduced crowds and financial challenges for many of the local businesses. In spite of all the closures, low crowds and tough times, the local marinas, boat rental operations, and dive shops are rallying together to give Lake Travis its much needed annual cleanup. The Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup began in 1994 as an informal gathering of local dive shops and has grown dramatically each year. The event is now managed by a partnership among the Colorado River Foundation, Keep Austin Beautiful, Travis County, and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The event is made possible through the participation of local marinas, boat rental operations, community groups, and the following Austin-area dive shops: Austin Aqua Sports, Clearwater Divers, Deep Blue Scuba, Dive World Scuba Centers, Oak Hill Scuba, Scubaland Adventures, Tom’s Dive & Swim and the University Scuba Club. Results: 913 Total Volunteers 5 Tons of trash removed
It's not hard to imagine that everything but the kitchen sink can be found at the bottom of Lake Travis. On Sunday, however, divers found the sink - and a bottle of wine, a debit card and 600 pounds of aluminum cans. Sunday marked the 13th year of the Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup , during which more than 1,000 volunteers grabbed as much debris, garbage and hidden treasure as they could carry from the shoreline and beneath the waves. "The purpose of the event is to give the lake a big cleanup after the busy summer season," said Brian Block , the executive director of Keep Austin Beautiful, one of the groups coordinating the event. "It's also to raise awareness about the health of the lake." Volunteer divers jumped into the lake while hundreds of others cleaned the shorelines of several parks. In 2006, volunteers pulled about six tons of trash from the lake, Block said. Some of the debris found Sunday ranged from the understandable - nearly half a ton of Budweiser, Miller and Keystone beer cans - to the truly unusual, including underwear, a portable toilet and a sunken personal watercraft. Last year at this time, the severe drought resulted in extremely low water levels at Lake Travis, dropping the lake to its lowest level since 2000. It was a different story this year after record summer storms helped fill the lake. "It actually made it easier to dive this year," said Anita Mennucci , executive director of the Colorado River Foundation. "Last year the lake was so far out, it was tough to get to." Mennucci said lake aficionados need to be aware of the effects their behavior has on the environment. "All that trash affects the ecosystem," she said. "When it flows down, it affects everyone downstream. It can make it a dangerous place to dive in there." BYLINE: Patrick George AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF DATE: September 10, 2007 PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX) EDITION: Final SECTION: METRO PAGE: B01
That the Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup has been in existence now for fourteen years attests to the great community support behind the event. The event gives Central Texans an easy, free, and exciting way to give back to the resources that are the lifeblood of our region. Not only is this event a fantastic public awareness venue and community building experience, but it has the obvious benefit of cleaning the lake and surrounding shoreline of tons – from 5 to 11 tons – of trash every year, including fishing line, tires, glass bottles, aluminum cans, batteries, and much more. The event brings the community together, educates youth and adults on aquatic health and pollution, and keeps the lake healthy for future generations. Results: 1,054 Total volunteers 6 Tons of trash removed
The PLTA along with volunteers from Volente organize their own community cleanup in preparation for the 15th annual LTUC. In addition, the association signed on as a contributing sponsor for the 2009 event.
Total volunteers registered was 1,253 contributing to a cleanup of over 20 tons. Partner community cleanups in Lakeway ensured this was the largest cleanup effort to date.
The Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup is the BIGGEST scuba diving and shoreline cleanup in Texas. The event invites several hundred certified scuba divers and shoreline volunteers to help round-up trash from the bottom of Lake Travis and the 9 Travis County Parks surrounding the lake. Results: 765 Total Volunteers 1.14 Tons of trash removed.
About 1,000 volunteers spent Sunday morning out at Lake Travis helping the environment. Armed with a garbage bag, 10-year-old Raychel Johnson and her family were among those who showed up for the 16th annual Underwater and Shoreline cleanup. "We shouldn't have to deal with it being messy, it's better for the environment if it's clean," Raychel said. As they walked along the shoreline, their bags started to fill up with aluminum cans, bottles and other trash which littered the ground. However, for Raychel it is not all work. "I have my family with me, and it's fun. And I get to look at the lake and stuff," she said. In this cleanup event, volunteers battle trash on two fronts. Scuba divers, like Matthew Andringa, head underwater to pick up where volunteers, like Raychel, leave off. "I remember one year somebody actually pulled up a horse saddle. And you figure that that's been here before the lake was filled up, before the lake was made. Rather than falling off of somebody's boat," Andriga said. Organizers said over the years the event and participation in the event has grown. They said this is the largest Underwater and Shoreline cleanup in Texas. "Last year we collected 34 tons of trash, it's incredible, the lake levels were so low that we were able to access areas of the lake where we were unable to do so before," Erin Franz with the Colorado River Foundation said. With the recent heavy rainfall, scuba divers anticipated a little more of a challenge this year. "Obviously all the rain is washing a bunch of stuff into the lake, and stir everything up," Andriga said. "It might make it a little bit harder to see what we're looking for down there." This year organizers expect to collect about five tons of debris, some of which will be recycled. The event is made possible through a partnership between multiple organizations including the Colorado River Foundation, Keep Austin Beautiful, Travis County Parks and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). To make the cleanup more interesting, organizers said prizes and awards are handed out at the end, including an award for the most unusual item found. By: Chie Saito
The severe drought throughout the state is hitting record-setting levels. The 11 months from October 2010 through August 2011 have been the driest for that 11-month period in Texas since 1895, when the state began keeping rainfall records, and Texas' summer has been the hottest in the nation's history. As of Sept. 21 the lakes were 39 percent full and held 789,000 acre-feet. This would move the lakes very close to the 600,000 acre-foot level that would trigger a declaration that conditions are worse than during the worst drought in the state's history, the 10-year drought of the 1940s and 50s.
•The Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup began in 1994 as an informal gathering of local dive shops and has grown dramatically each year. The event is now managed by a partnership among the Colorado River Foundation, Keep Austin Beautiful, Travis County, and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and is in its 17th year. Results: 848 Total Volunteers 1.64 Tons of Trash removed
For over 18 years, the Lake Travis Underwater & Shoreline Cleanup has helped keep the waters and shoreline of Lake Travis clean and healthy for divers, boaters, and visitors from central Texas all the way to communities downstream. The Lake Travis Underwater & Shoreline Cleanup has grown in size and scope each year, attracting more volunteers, garnering more media attention and securing more in-kind support from local area businesses. Results: 952 Total Volunteers 3.61 Tons of trash removed
TBD
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