ST. GABRIEL —  Heavy rain in the capital region is pushing more than water through local bayous. It is carrying trash and pollution into waterways like Bayou Manchac, leaving behind debris along the shoreline.

After recent rainfall, plastic bottles, food containers and other litter were visible along the banks of the bayou near St. Gabriel.

For Clyde Morales, it’s a problem he has watched grow for years.

Morales has lived in Iberville Parish for about 18 years and noted that litter has long been an issue along the waterway.

“It looks terrible,” Morales said.

Rising water levels can make the situation worse, especially when nearby rivers swell during heavy rain.

“When the Amite is too high, then it backflows and the trash gets pushed back up this way,” Morales said.

After watching the problem continue, Morales began making calls asking for help to clean up the area.

That outreach helped bring in crews to remove debris before it spreads farther downstream.

Robin Burgess, who kayaks along Bayou Manchac about once a month, says storms often leave behind large amounts of litter.

“Today, my heart is full because it’s been broken. Heartbroken. It’s so bad here when it rains, especially the litter,” Burgess said.

Burgess hopes the cleanup also serves as a reminder for people to properly dispose of trash.

“Please pick up your trash. I mean, look around — you’re fishing and eating out of this. You’re eating the trash,” Burgess said.

Trevor Besse, regional manager for the Osprey Initiative, said responding to situations like this is part of a larger effort to keep waterways clean.

“The on-call phase allows us to jump on top of this litter while it’s here and respond to the public whenever they have concerns about litter in the water,” Besse said.

Cleanup crews plan to continue monitoring waterways after heavy rain events, when debris and pollution are most likely to wash into local bayous and rivers.