10/06/2018
Colorado Belle & Edgewater Casino Resorts have guaranteed a $1,000 award to Topock Community Pride, Inc., for their planned Colorado River Cleanup on October 6. The organization will work to clear trash from riverbanks and inlets from Topock 66 Marina (the Topock Gorge area) through Devil’s Elbow, roughly 8 nautical miles. “We’re happy to help other organizations who are as dedicated as we are to improving the river environment,” said Ryan Walker, Colorado Belle and Edgewater Sr VP & GM. The properties’ cash award will bring the total amount awarded to service organizations to $22,000. To date, over 651 volunteers from 21 different service groups and 35 scuba divers have removed 18.55 tons of garbage from the Colorado River banks and river bed since December 5, 2017. The areas covered total 75 miles of riverfront, islands and parks. Pre- and post-event river cleanups were part of the promises Anthony Marnell III made when proposing to purchase the ownership rights to the River Regatta. Volunteers removed 3.38 tons prior to the August 11 event, an additional 14.4 tons during and the day after the event and 1,540 pounds in the last cleanup. Scuba divers sent to clean the riverbed after the Laughlin River Regatta, brought up a wide variety of items. Roughly 85% of the items they removed were categorized as ‘old’ trash, covered in river bottom debris, algae and quagga mussels. Among the items pulled from the river by divers were 340 grocery bags, 210 plastic trash bags, 246 beverage bottles, 112 jetski buoys and floats, 35 t-shirts, 200 aluminum beverage cans, 40 towels, 12 plastic chairs, 26 golf and tennis balls and “a lot” of fishing line, lures, rods and poles. The divers were sponsored by Capt. Jerry Portwood of Dive Shack USA, participating in the Dive Against Debris project which removes and catalogs material pulled from waterways and posts on line. “We are extremely proud of our environmental efforts. In less than a year to have removed that much trash from the river is an enormous positive impact,” said Ed Catalfamo, Colorado Belle and Edgewater Events Manager. If you or your group would like to be considered for future river clean-ups please email: [email protected].
