Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers define its geography and help shape its identity. Yet defining Pittsburghers own relationships to the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers is an ever-shifting process. For over a century, the Three Rivers helped fuel Pittsburgh’s boom, creating a culture where residents saw their rivers as little more than industrial sewers. Today, that’s changing. Decades of clean-up have started a new, hopeful chapter in this story, where Pittsburghers are re-imagining their relationships to their signature waterways.
When a flood devastated the river town of Etna in 2004, the community set in motion a radical plan to cope with its stormwater problems using green infrastructure.
Rather than scratch and claw for baseballs with the other ball "hawks" inside PNC park, Pete Schell has staked out his own version of the hawks' life on the banks of the Allegheny River.
Damon “Hop” Hopkins only needs three words to tell you about the grossest thing that’s ever happened to him working in Pittsburgh’s sewers. “Chest high. Feces.”
Police diver Greg Tersine has a unique view on Pittsburgh's Three Rivers. He has to navigate the maze of shopping carts, cars and stolen ATM machines that line the bottom of the rivers.
Rob Walters isn't a vigilante. But he doesn't mind the term "P.I." And every week he's patrolling Pittsburgh's Three Rivers in a flat-bottom boat, just to make sure everything is as it should be.
