Welcome to ‘Beer Mountain’ : Morristown volunteers clean up Whippany River

SAVING A RIVER: Volunteers with trash fished from the Whippany River and its banks in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad
SAVING A RIVER: Volunteers with trash fished from the Whippany River and its banks in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad
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SAVING A RIVER: Volunteers with trash fished from the Whippany River and its banks in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad
SAVING A RIVER: Volunteers with trash fished from the Whippany River and its banks in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad

By Berit Ollestad

Pausing for a moment near the water’s edge, a little boy gazed up the hill above the Whippany River in Morristown.

It reminded him, he said, of a “beer mountain.”

Although the river yielded fewer bicycles, shopping carts, TVs and other bulky items during last month’s annual cleanup, the amount of food wrappers and beers cans was staggering.

Spring Place, behind Burger King, seems to have become a haven for folks to sit, chug beer and toss the cans over the fence … where many ultimately wind up in the river.

Patriots Path, along the river‘s edge, also appears to be a dumping ground for an encampment of Morristown’s homeless population.

With help from Morristown’s public works department, volunteers have removed tons of debris over the last four years. While it’s hard to believe so many years have passed, it’s even harder to imagine, after seeing the pile of garbage collected on this chilly Saturday morning, what the river would look like without the help of these community volunteers.

“I mark my calendar every year for this event,” said Len Cipkins, co-chair of the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee.

Photos by Berit Ollestad.

“Not only is it visually appealing to clean the trash in and around the river bank, it is continuing to improve the quality of the water year after year. When you remove tires and paint cans from the banks it can only have a positive effect. This is my fourth year of being here and it’s great to see the dedication of so many. I mean, you tend to see the same faces year after year,” Cipkins said.

Working with the watershed committee, the Bethel A.M.E. Church helped secure a $17,000 grant  to study river flooding in Morristown’s Second Ward. The church sustained extensive flood damage after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Although improvements have been made to a dam upstream, an overflow basin still is needed, according to the watershed committee and church. They are soliciting a $500,000 grant from the state to move forward with the basin.

The watershed committee says the once-polluted river is making a comeback.  Fish are being stocked, and the waterway is returning to life.

A young volunteer cleans cans from 'Beer Mountain' in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad
A young volunteer cleans cans from ‘Beer Mountain’ in Morristown. Photo by Berit Ollestad
Bethel Pastor Sidney Williams Jr., his wife Teresa and their children pitched in once again at the cleanup. If flooding can be solved, the pastor envisions affordable housing being erected near the church.

“It’s awesome to see so many here in the community come together and do this spring cleaning of the river each year,” said Mary Dougherty, who stopped by with her husband, Mayor Tim Dougherty,  to thank volunteers and grab some refreshments before heading off to support Morristown High School’s production of Grease.

Kristen Hamilton brought her son Max, age 8.

“It was amazing to see all the little kids get so excited when they’d spot something on the river bank like a rusty pipe, for example,” she said.

“They would all work so hard together to remove it. I also used the experience for us to talk about how the actions of others affect other people and the environment. We both really enjoyed ourselves and we’re glad we went. We look forward to going next year,” she said.

Max’s friend Zachary Goldstein seemed to capture the essence of the event when he summed up his experience:

“That was really fun. I think I need to clean the environment more often.”

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