Ashes on the Buddha
by Bob Rauseo

Back in 1991 John HicksCourant formed the Divers Environmental Survey (DES) and joined up with SWEAT to clean the
Shawsheen River.
   "We will clean the entire river!" John proclaimed. "It will take us ten years."
   At the time ten years seemed like an eternity and far more time than it would take to clean the little Shawsheen.
Well, here we are ten years later. What have we accomplished? Large reaches of the Shawsheen are passable by canoe. Over 2000 tires and hundreds of cubic yards of trash and debris have been hauled out of the channel. An enormous amount of scenic pruning has occurred. Some of the people around in 1991 are still active in the river, some have moved on, and many newcomers have joined the work. Neither DES nor SWEAT continue as legally registered groups, but their spirit is still strong. The SRWA is a legal IRS 501.c.(3) organization, and the work continues.
   Is the river clean? Incredibly cleaner than it was ten years ago.
   Are we done? No.
   We overlooked a few things back in 1991. First, we failedto realize the extent and depth of the trash in the channel. After we pulled out the trash from a section, we often found not river bottom but another layer of trash beneath. At first this was discouraging. Then we started to realize how deep the Shawsheen River will be when all the human-generated debris is removed. The thought of a deep, narrow, and swift cold-water channel replacing the shallow, wide,and sluggish warm water puddles we knew was invigorating.
   Second, we forgot to account for the continued trashing of the river. Although this appears to be happening to a much lesser degree than in the past, every year tires, construction debris, and household trash still end up in the river. Thousands of bottles and cans still float downstream. Miller Lite cans have replaced Ballantine cans. Plastic PowerAde bottles have replaced glass Fanta bottles. Trash is still trash.
   We have come to realize that a clean river is not a static condition. The work to clean the river will never be complete, can never be complete; because the Shawsheen is not a place and is not a thing. The Shawsheen River is an event. It is the movement of water from Bedford to Lawrence. It is the interplay of current, river bottom, and banks. As we remove trash and debris, we keep that movement alive, we unleash the power of the river to clean the channel itself, and we become part of the "rivercleaning event."
   So, as we continue our work into the new millennium, we invite you to join us. Help keep the movement alive. Assist in the restoration of the true Shawsheen River that is still buried beneath our carelessness. Become part of the event.
See you in the river!