The effects of several days of rain are still visible along parts of the Trinity River in Fort Worth. Those side effects would be litter.
It's a year-round battle that has water authorities looking to get everyone it can involved.
The beauty of the Trinity River brings recreation and business. The river is why Fort Worth's Martin House Brewing set up shop were it did at South Sylvania Avenue and East 4th Street.
"We wanted something that was right on the trails," said co-founder and owner David Wedemeier.
The river serves as a great sight and helps with more sales.
"We use it every Saturday," Wedemeier said. "We have pretty big tours where people come out and hang out on the lawn, drink beer. They've got their dogs, their Frisbees."
It's a good time on the back parking lot and adjacent levee that owes its success, in part, to how clean and green the river and the surrounding grassy areas are.
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"We're using it, we should take care of it," Wedemeier said.
The brewery is one of 30 companies and groups, so far, that's signed up to for the Tarrant Regional Water District's Adopt-A-River program. While the brewery cleans up after every tour as good stewards of their leased land, they also join efforts throughout the year to keep the river clean.
"We participate with the clean-ups and partner with other groups and have them come out here and pick up trash," Wedemeier said.
"It just shows their (the businesses) commitment to the community," said Chad Lorance, spokesman for TRWD.
Lorance said work crews can only clean so much of the Trinity Trails and river, meaning the public's involvement continues to be the key to clean water and the water source.
"They want to improve the quality of the water and appearance around the river, and it's really neat to see it happening," Lorance said.
Litter is not just an issue when there's higher water on the banks of the Trinity. It's why the Adopt-A-River program isn't the only one the district and its partners offer in an effort to get more people pitching in and keep more litter from ending up on the water.
"We also have an adopt-a-drain program," Lorance said.
There's also the Reverse Litter campaign and "Pick-up Ten on Tuesday," which asks people to pick-up 10 pieces of litter.
Whether it's a beer can coming off the production line or a plastic bottle that's seen better days, it's everyone's responsibility to keep the river clean.
"It's easy, it's fun, it only takes a couple hours, and afterwards have a cold one," Wedemeier said.
TRWD says it still has about 15 sections of the river up for adoption.
Groups or companies must participate in the twice-a-year clean ups, where they will be provided with appropriate equipment. But residents are urged to pick up litter whenever and wherever they see it.
