View From The Pontoon Boat

Sometimes we talk about water cleanliness and river health in abstract-sounding ways: in terms of pollutants, sediment and dissolved oxygen levels. But the Philadelphia Water Department also takes the obvious route to cleaner waterways. Behold the view from our pontoon boat, which patrols the Schuylkill River from the Strawberry Mansion Bridge to Boathouse Row once a week from May to October (weather permitting), collecting "floatables": trash skimmed from the river. The most common floatables are plastic bags, styrofoam and plastic bottles (which are separated on the boat for recycling), but according to PWD's Jim D'Agostino, there's also the occasional car tire, household door, children's toy, bicycle and even a lawnmower. The photo above is from yesterday's outing; another shot of the pontoon boat after the jump.