Residents and tourists who venture into Fairmount Park from the Art Museum area aren't greeted with nature's splendor, but instead Philadelphia's trash.
The narrow channel of water that separates Kelly Drive from the Fairmount Dam is being called an eyesore after tons of trash and a plant called duckweed have overrun the area.
Everything from basketballs to chairs to bottles and logs could be seen floating in the channel that stretches between the Azalea Garden and Boathouse Row.
Residents say the "unforgivable" mess has been around for way too long and that the city needs to clean it up.
"It's impressive how this is such a beautiful area and that this is so dirty and just full of trash," Jean Miller said on a walk with her kids Monday. "It doesn't seem like it should be that hard to clean it up."
The Philadelphia Water Department told NBC Philadelphia's Lu Ann Cahn they've removed 681-tons of trash -- including 281 shopping carts -- from the river this year through skimming. But officials say cleaning up the channel is dangerous because it is so narrow and shallow.
Fairmount Park Commission Director Mark Focht agrees saying cleaning the channel is futile because of the way the area's storm water system is designed.
"If I would marshal all of our forces and clean that all up today, there'd be trash back there tomorrow," he said.
Area water drainage systems are connected to the Schuylkill from as far west as Pottstown, Pa. making it a much bigger problem for Philadelphia.
The channel is expected to be widened in the coming years, but there's no guarantee that will solve the problem.
NBC Philadelphia contacted several city departments in an attempt to see if and when the area would be cleaned up, but none could offer a timeframe as to the area would be cleared.
