A small group of Chattanoogans spent the first sunny day in a week volunteering to remove trash from the heavily polluted Chattanooga Creek.
The creek has a long and dirty history with waste that includes federal mandates, local cleanup efforts and a lot of trash.
It is the most polluted in the area.
"We're just going to try to raise as much awareness as we can about a big problem in our community," organizer Randy Whorton said.
The creek was a high-priority site for the Environmental Protection Agency after companies dumped their pollutants in the water a century ago. Much of the site has been remediated but remains a popular place for residents to dump their unwanted waste.
Several such dump sites along the water collect mounds of garbage, but on Sunday, the bulk of the problem was floating downstream. Steady rain during the week swept much of the waste that lined the shoreline into the creek and toward the Tennessee River.
Event coordinators believe the flooding, high creek levels and fast-moving current scared away many volunteers who attended similar cleanups last year. However, about 10 volunteers still came Sunday afternoon.
It was the first of the year and was organized by Whorton - founder of Wild Trails - with the help of TenneSEA Executive Director Mary Beth Sutton and local resident Chris Gehard.
The crew filled bag after bag, but the vast majority of the trash remained behind, too much for a small group to conquer in one day. But that hasn't kept organizers from trying, and hoping, to ultimately eradicate the problem.
Three major cleanups last year cleared roughly 4,500 pounds of trash. They expect to do three more main cleanups in 2019, and those who attended are asking for help to clean up the community eyesore.
"It just really turns my stomach," volunteer Dave Porfiri said of the first time he saw all the waste. "It was depressing to see that people can be so ignorant and so careless of the natural wonders that surround us."
Gehard has been in contact with his local council member to brainstorm ideas that could help prevent littering in the area. He also plans to meet with some North Georgia officials - one popular dump site is just a couple hundred yards upstream of the state line - to figure out ways to give residents better access to proper trash services.
"I live right here, so I drive by two, three, four times a day, and it just breaks my heart every times I see it," he said. "My goal is to hopefully in the next couple of years get this to where this [pollution] isn't happening anymore."
Whorton is working to get a permanent dumpster put behind the nearby Clumpies Ice Cream Co. The dumpster would allow for more cleanups from other community organizations. He's heard from several looking to help.
Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.