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Public Works Clears Storm Debris

On Thursday, December 19, a crew from Alameda’s Public Works Department was out in force at Alameda Point to clean up debris hurled onshore by recent storms. Six workers brought a full supply of equipment to remove the plastic-and-Styrofoam-laced debris along the Seaplane Lagoon shoreline near the ferry terminal.

Alameda Post - workers in safety vests work to get plastic trash and debris out from the ground in between the road and Seaplane Lagoon
Workers with a rake and shovel pick up debris between the curb and riprap boulders to place into the front loader and drop into a dump truck. Photo Richard Bangert.
Alameda Post - a mini street sweeper cleans up debris at Alameda Point
Mini street sweeper in action at Seaplane Lagoon. Photo Richard Bangert.

A front loader was filled by hand with larger debris before being deposited into a dump truck. A mini street sweeper went back and forth on the bike trail to vacuum up the blanket of small debris after it was “herded” into the center by a worker using a leaf blower.

Truck-mounted storm drain vacs were used to vacuum up Styrofoam pellets and small bits of plastic packed into one corner of the shoreline. The vacuum hose on the first unit tended to clog with small sticks, so they brought in a bigger unit. One worker guided the vacuum attachment, while others moved boulders to get at the debris.



Public Works Cleans Up Storm Debris

Alameda Post - a worker in an orange safety vest uses a leaf blower to blow debris into the path of a small street sweeper
A worker blows storm debris into a column on the bike trail so the mini street sweeper can vacuum it up. Photo Richard Bangert.

“This was the first time our storm drain hydrovacs have been used to clean up Styrofoam pellets,” said Public Works Supervisor Patrick Papalagi.

Between the street sweeper, the vacuum trucks, and hand labor, the crew removed 18.25 cubic yards of debris from the Seaplane Lagoon shoreline, according to Papalagi. Crews had also been busy cleaning up other shoreline messes from the storms.

Alameda Post - the operator of a front loader dumps debris into a waiting dump truck
A front loader deposits storm debris into a dump truck. Photo Richard Bangert.
Alameda Post - a truck with a long attachment is used to vacuum debris
A large storm drain hydrovac vacuums Styrofoam pellets and small plastic debris next to Seaplane Promenade Park. Photo Richard Bangert.
Alameda Post - a worker in an orange vest uses a long metal tube attached to a truck to suck up debris
Public Works supervisor Patrick Papalagi (in orange shirt) maneuvers the hydrovac attachment to suck up Styrofoam pellets and plastic. Photo Richard Bangert.

“Public Works and Parks both did cleanups on Harbor Bay shorelines,” said Papalagi.  “The Parks Department addressed from the Bay Farm Bridge to the Ferry Terminal, and Public Works addressed from the Ferry Terminal south through the concrete terraced promenade.”

Public Works also cleared debris from Main Street and on Shoreline Drive that was causing flooding.

Contributing writer Richard Bangert posts stories and photos about environmental issues on his blog Alameda Point Environmental Report. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Richard-Bangert.

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