Crews remove tons of debris, much of it from cars, from Pittsburgh's rivers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It is estimated that about 100 cars are sitting at the bottom of the rivers around Pittsburgh.

In the past couple of days, tons of debris, much of it from cars, has been removed.

Mangled monstrosities sitting at the bottom of the Monongahela River near the Mon Wharf were removed on Tuesday. It was a fraction of the debris Living Lands and Waters have pulled out of Pittsburgh's three rivers.

"There's still more work to be done, but it's really cool to be partnering with other groups and doing it all together," said Callie Schaser, Living Lands and Waters' communications specialist.

The Illinois organization is working with the Three Rivers Waterkeeper to get the old cars out. Many of the ones crews found in the Allegheny River on Monday dated back 50 to 60 years. On Monday, crews removed 50,000 pounds of car parts.

Sonar lets crews know something is in the water, divers go in and find it, and the excavator drags it out.

"I think it makes a difference not only to get the trash out of the river but for people to see that it's happening too," Three Rivers Waterkeeper Captain Evan Clark said.

On Tuesday afternoon, crews removed another six to seven cars out of the Monongahela River. The afternoon was spent going along the Allegheny River again.

The vehicles end up in the water from floods washing them out or people dumping them after stealing them.

"So far, the river has been a place where they don't come back from. But that's changing today," Capt. Clark said.

While the crews are in the region, there are plans to go along the rivers and address some abandoned and dialect boats that have become unwelcomed neighbors.

"It's huge to start to see some of those boats go away," Capt. Clark said.

And with these crews searching the water, it begs the question: Have they found the legendary B-25 that crashed into the Mon so many decades ago? Well, not quite yet.

"We've got our eyes peeled," Capt. Clark said.