"On the way up the bridge I just looked down and realized how dirty it was around the lake with all of the garbage," Runge recalled. "I actually saw a bird with a milk carton in her mouth."
Raffa's sits on the edge of the river, in sight of the bridge. At times the trash is not helpful to its waterside ambience.
<>p> Paul Griffin with Raffa's American Bistro said, "I know they use the lake a lot for recreation. I don't think I would go swimming in it myself. It's just...it's just... Frankly, it's gross.""It's a big problem," said Lt L.T. Mitchell with Harris County Environmental Enforcement. "It costs the citizens of Harris County a lot of money."
Lt. Mitchell leads a 10 person environmental crimes task force for Harris County. He says the trash along the bridge is not unusual.
"It's pretty even throughout the whole county, mainly dead end streets, underneath bridges, county right of way, flood control, ditches, bayous," said Lt. Mitchell. "It's everywhere."
So who's responsible for it? That's a good question. Half of the bridge is maintained by the county, half by the city and the land near the bridge is either city controlled or privately held. Whoever owns the land is responsible for the trash that washes onto it. And then there's the way it affects more than just those on the shore.
"In this case, Lake Houston is the city drinking water," Lt. Mitchell said. "We handle it all as a pollutant."
And it all is a pollutant in the eyes of Kurt Runge, who sees the trash every day.
"Last week there was a refrigerator out in front of the water. (It) sat there about a week," he said.
You can report illegal dumping by calling Harris County's 24-hour hotline, at 281-463-4619. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
This story was brought to you through our partnership with Houston Community Newspapers. You can read more about it in the Atascocita Observer.
