Whistler residents hit the water in search of garbage

Many British Columbians are heading to the water this weekend but for some Whistler residents, it’s not about beating the heat.

Dozens of volunteers are paddling, snorkeling and swimming around four Whistler Lakes to rid them of sunken garbage.

“We do a great job of cleaning up the valley, but I don’t think we’ve ever cleaned the bottom of the lake,” says City Councillor Roger McCarthy.

Following only a few hours, the volunteers collected abandoned trash at the bottom of Alta Lake that included everything from old shoes to a patio set.

“Some of it looks pretty old, some of it is pretty corroded, there’s a lot of metal, old boats, rowboats that I saw on the bottom and were too big for me to haul up onto a paddleboard, says volunteer Bruce Mohr.

Whistler’s lakes are part of the regions attraction for tourists and locals, say volunteers, and they hope their efforts will help keep it that way.

“As a Whistler local, I think it’s important to keep it beautiful, people come here to enjoy the beauty and natural beauty,” says volunteer Kristen Reinholz.

“I use the lake all the time, and it seems such a shame that it gets covered in garbage. And underneath the water, all you see is garbage, so it was really important to come clean it up.”

The group’s clean-up efforts, which they don’t want to make an annual event, comes with a message to park users – pack out what you pack in and leave it as beautiful as you found it.