‘Continuous battle’ on the water

Operation SPLASH looks to keep waterways clean

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As we headed back to the Guy Lombardo Marina in Freeport, navigating through Freeport waterways two days before Thanksgiving, the pile of trash on our boat was both gratifying and alarming. Three volunteers from Operation Stop Polluting, Littering and Save Harbors, or SPLASH, County Legislator Laura Curran and I had spent the last two-plus hours cruising the local waters, clearing debris and piling it on our vessel. By the time we turned back, we had filled three garbage cans to the brim with trash — bottles, cans, bags — and hauled aboard some larger items as well, including a 4-foot ladder, a director’s chair and a chunk of a telephone pole.

At one point, our captain, Anthony Alfieri, a North Bellmore resident, suddenly turned the boat around and headed toward the marsh. As he maneuvered to a stop, I realized why: A large blue barrel was peeking out of the water. Steve Bohn, a SPLASH volunteer (and the third vice commander of Baldwin American Legion Post 246), moved toward the bow to bring the barrel closer. He pinned it against the side of the boat, and I pulled it in. It looked as if it had been there a while. Bohn didn’t seem surprised, but I was.

Pollution of local waterways is something we South Shore residents hear a lot about. Keeping these waterways clean is an ongoing battle, but it’s one that Operation SPLASH, a Freeport-based all-volunteer organization, plans on winning.

SPLASH was founded in 1990, and has grown into the largest local group devoted to preserving our waterways. It now has seven boats in its fleet and roughly 3,500 volunteers who donate their time and energy to clear canals and marshes of litter and debris.

The organization’s president, Rob Weltner, has been awarded grants over the years that have helped local municipalities install catch basins and other tools to trap debris before it finds its way out into the ocean. But even with those efforts, plenty of trash still makes its way into larger bodies of water, harming the ecosystem and wildlife. As of Nov. 17, according to Weltner, SPLASH volunteers had picked 151,000 pounds of litter out of local waterways this year, including 72 tires, nearly 500 55-gallon barrels and 1,500 35-gallon bags.

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