MIDDLEBURG, Fla.-- Black Creek is brimming with debris nearly seven months after Tropical Storm Debby left town. It's creating a hazard for neighbors like Callie Webb who live and boat along its banks.
"It's dirty trash in the water," she said. "There's trash around here and it's really not a clean, safe place."
Now it's clean-up time for Clay County. Action News has learned Emergency Management is using $84,000 in state and federal dollars to hire a contractor to clean up the mess that record flooding left behind, from furniture floating up top to other debris below.
"We have two derelict vessels or sunken barges that are now navigational hazards," said John Ward with Clay County Emergency Management. "They're actually going to be having some underwater cutting divers that are going to be cutting that up and removing that."
But emergency managers said crews will not be able to get the job done without community cooperation.
"If any of the boaters that are on the creek see these contractors, try to keep a minimum wake down to not endanger any of our folks that are out there," said Ward.
A simple task for neighbors who want their creek back to the way it was.
"It's really good that they're cleaning it up. We want somewhere clean, somewhere good for people to be around," said Webb.
Contractors are expected to begin the cleanup at the end of January.
