2022 Water Quality Hero
Spreading innovative solutions to waterway litter
We've got so many reasons to give thanks! In each of our program areas, we see ordinary people taking heroic action to protect our home from the pressures of a changing climate.
This year-end, we're highlighting stories that inspired us and sharing how we're planting seeds to create a climate-resilient future for all of us.
Luckily, we're not alone on this journey! A group of anonymous donors has offered a $50,000 match on donations made before December 31.
Do you want to go fishing next to used baby diapers or paddle your kayak past porta-potty parts?
Neither did George Santucci.
George is our 2022 Water Quality Hero for his leadership and creative pursuit of innovative solutions to urgent water quality challenges in Boone, N.C.
Now the Sustainability and Special Projects Manager at the Town of Boone, George spent more than 15 years as executive director of the New River Conservancy.
In his personal and professional life, he's tackled the persistent challenge of waterway litter.
“I’ve personally removed more than 1,000 tires from the river, and I couldn’t even tell you how many tons of trash. It breaks your heart every time you’re out there,” he said.
"It’s trash that shouldn’t be there."
When he joined the Town of Boone, one of the first projects he invested in was a proactive way to address river-borne litter — the Trash Trout.
“Cleanups can be a fun way to engage volunteers out on the river, but at the end of day, you’re picking up trash. It’s sad. It’s trash that shouldn’t be there,” George said.
Boone already had adopt-a-street and adopt-a-stream programs. George said the Trash Trout was an innovative addition to those efforts—and one that makes it possible to collect more litter with fewer people in less time.
“It’s out there 24/7 catching garbage, which is awesome,” George said, adding that Boone’s river-borne litter is mostly food and drink packaging thrown from car windows or washed through storm drains from streets and sidewalks.
Stormwater litter is a complex problem, but George isn’t tackling it alone. The Town of Boone is the guardian of six important waterways in the New River watershed, and leaders in the community take that responsibility very seriously.
Watauga Riverkeeper Andy Hill first proposed the idea of installing a Trash Trout, and won the support of then-Boone Town Manager John Ward. When George joined the team, he was able to complete the purchase and installation. Since then, it has become an effective stormwater litter solution, an educational tool, and a rallying point.
“It’s a constant reminder that we need to be good stewards and put trash where it belongs,” George said, adding that seeing the scale of the local litter problem prompted town leaders to invest in a second Trash Trout, which was installed this October.
George installs Boone’s second Trash Trout.
Putting Care in Action
George told us: “People come here because it’s a gorgeous place. No one wants their kids playing in a place that’s full of trash. No one wants to take a walk on the greenway and see trash in the river."
In Asheville, we have the same love for our creeks and streams.
We may not have complete control over many of the environmental challenges we face—but we can control how much we care.
If you’re reading this, know that, like George, you’re part of a community of creative, resourceful people working together to find innovative solutions to our most frustrating environmental problems, like the stormwater litter that spoils our own French Broad River watershed.
It’s up to all of us, working together now, to create the future we want to thrive in.
That's why we're thrilled to share that this holiday season, a group of generous donors in this community has stepped up to match gifts made before December 31, up to $50,000.
That means, any dollar given this month does twice as much to clean up our waterways.
When you donate today, you double the impact of our efforts to empower the waterway guardians in this community who invest their time and energy into keeping our creeks and streams clean and free of litter.
Will you give a gift now to remove pollution from our creeks and rivers, so we can all benefit from clean, healthy waterways?
31 Trash Trouts Now Protect Waterways in 4 States
#14 hits the water! Brittain Creek Trash Trout installed in Henderson County.
This January, we began an amazing team-up with Waterkeepers Carolina to install 15 Trash Trouts in creeks and rivers across the state.
Fast forward to now, and 14 of those 15 Trash Trouts are protecting waterways in communities from here to Cape Fear.
This partnership was spearheaded by the Haw River Assembly Riverkeeper Emily Sutton, and we're grateful for her leadership and the efforts of this amazing group of North Carolina waterway guardians.
We're so excited to see all the success these riverkeepers are having with their new traps!\
French Broad Riverkeeper
Watauga Riverkeeper
Broad Riverkeeper
Green Riverkeeper
Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper
Dan Riverkeeper
Sound Rivers, Lower Neuse Riverkeeper
Lumber Riverkeeper
Winyah Rivers Alliance
Haw River Assembly
Cape Fear River Watch
Catawba Riverkeeper
Yadkin Riverkeeper
With this tremendous success, we're celebrating that at the close of 2022, 31 Trash Trouts now protect waterways in 4 states.
We're gearing up to expand this program and bring this innovative stormwater litter solution to even more communities next year.
Want to help us expand this program?
