Where is the trinity river
Verify: Is the Trinity River gross?
all month long we're bringing you WFAA
originals the stories that you will not
see anywhere else tonight we take you
along the Trinity River where some think
a 6,000 acre park inside data city
limits is possible but there's one big
question is that the Trinity grows on
the nice verify segment David Schechter
goes down there to see for himself I
think that very few contemporary dala
sites have ever experienced a roaring
breakfast campfire along the Trinity
River there's so much down here that is
untouched
there's so much down here that is wild
there's so much down here that is
magnificent magnificent and wild that's
how some people see the Trinity how do
you see kind of growth it stinks
Vanessa river to be honest with you for
20 years
Dallas has been promised a downtown mega
park built inside the levee walls of the
Trinity but lately some publications
have been writing about a new idea not a
150 acre park but a 6,000 acre
wilderness
it's actually inside the city limits
that's a grand vision but what's the
reality to see what works and what's
broken I'm gonna spend the day inside
the Great Trinity Forest
hey where are we right now we're at the
Trinity River Audubon Center it is
really a beautiful beautiful place my
guide is naturalist Ben Sandefur he's
taking me from the Trinity River Audubon
Center to the park that's right next
door called McComas bluff there's some
great stuff in here yeah but to do it
there's no trail now we're in a place
where a few ever venture this feels very
very different right away
this feels like a forest it is that's
right people there's a forest in Dallas
it's home to 226 kinds of birds
there are rare plants and animals the
trouble is it is so hard to get round in
here Oh a chance how are you feeling
about all this I feel like I've had a
thousand thorns in my legs Hector would
you like me to call an uber right now
yeah can we call it over probably one of
the most interesting places on the
Trinity that I don't think too many
Dallas sites know about and that
location is McComas bluff and all I made
it Wow
are you kidding me this is Dallas no
it's not this is the Trinity
I think one of the big things I want to
know is how polluted is the river
everyone thinks the river is polluted is
it possible that we're in the city of
Dallas right now yeah it's very possible
can't smell it that's Richard Grayson he
leads a team of volunteers who take
water samples when it rains he says
nearly every drop runs down here plus
all the things that the rain brings with
it Richard I am astounded to see how
much trash there is in here yeah why is
there so much trash in here we're the
most part it flushes off parking lots in
city streets all the way down to the
river and trash isn't even the biggest
problem for decades factories polluted
the river with toxic waste and today
people are still dumping things right
now we're testing for e.coli which comes
from animal poop and fertilizer the
water we sample is 20 times above the
EPA's safe swimming standards we
interviewed him using Facebook live so
that you could ask some of your own
questions
this is from Christopher with the amount
of rain that we get and the runoff is
there any way to keep it clean or
prevent pollution it's do it's very
difficult in an urban area like this can
you swim in it you shouldn't shouldn't
can you eat fish from it you shouldn't
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advocates see an opportunity for a great
city park in here because local
government owns all the land 6000 acres
and the city of Dallas has a plan for
the Great Trinity Forest I looked it up
the plan says it should be updated every
year but that hasn't happened in almost
a decade has the city neglected the
Trinity Forest yes and you can't blame
who's currently in office or currently
at City Hall for that because it's been
something that's been in the works for
generations
is there no to apply it is is a seat of
your pants plan you look more like the
sheriff to the mayor right now there's a
new sheriff in town sir so let's ride
horses in the forest while we get some
answers from Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings
[Music]
[Applause]
we've got to just make sure we preserve
all this that's the my big thing has the
city neglected the Great Trinity forest
well I think over the decades we have
okay I think in recent years the
progress has been remarkable he's
talking about big-ticket projects like
the Audubon Center the Texas Horse Park
where we are now and a championship golf
course there also are the beginnings of
a trail system to hook it all up
he says finishing those trails and
making things more accessible in the
forest is a big priority so a work in
progress this is a piece of art that
every year I think we're to get better
and better at so what do we verify well
the trail system is incomplete to get
between the cool things that we saw the
Trinity River is polluted and the city
of Dallas doesn't have a working plan on
how to make the Trinity Forest truly
great that's all for now if you've got
something you want verified just let us
know
david schechter is our talking about his
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