Floating trash and debris along some area canals is a problem Water District officials feel they can finally get a grip on.

The South Florida Water Management District’s Big Cypress Basin has a plan to deal with trash floating through canals into Naples Bay, which causes massive amounts of pollution. They deployed the first of many TuffBoom Barrier’s into the canal system Thursday. Crews put the first one at Golden Gate Weir number one. Tuffbooms is a floating barrier that pushes floating debris to the banks of the canal for cleanup. Big Cypress Basin director Clarence Tears, says the booms, similar to the types used in logging, should remain a permanent fixture.

“They should ultimately never have to be replaced, but what we may have to do…you know over time…is see if the angle that we’re trying to deflect the surface debris is enough. So there may be some fine tuning but other than that it will stay in place for the long term.”

Tears says the rains and floods from last year sent a lot of lawn and residential debris through the canals. Crews install the second of three booms Friday at Golden Gate Weir number two.