ARANSAS PASS — Illegal dumping is said to have negative impacts on one of our area's popular tourist destinations: Aransas Pass.
The Aransas Pass Code Enforcement officers there are cracking down illegal dumping in the city.
Enforcement officers are reminding people that, if caught dumping materials, you could be charged with a pretty hefty fine; and if convicted, jail time.
Aransas Pass homeowner Roy Vasquez makes great strides to keep Aransas Pass beautiful.
Vasquez went around the city and picked up a total of 76 illegally dumped tires.
However, there's still much more left to clean.
Aransas Pass Code Enforcement officers are planning a "Tire Take Back" event, which will help haul dumped tires out of the city.
Vasquez was able to show our Action 10 News team some of the areas where folks leave their items.
“Another problem is that the tires hold water and, in the spring, and summer, that water -- there's no movement," he said. "There's not enough heat to evaporate, so the mosquitoes have a breeding ground.”
Vasquez also said he will continue to fight illegal dumping, and he advises others to do the same.
Aransas Pass Code Enforcement said it is grateful, because staff says, it can't do it all on its own.
“Having residents that live in Aransas Pass that take such pride in this community, it means a lot to our department," said Code Compliance Officer Cory Elrod. "We're struggling so hard to get the town cleaned up, and we have certain individuals that just take that initiative to go out and do it on their own time. It's truly a blessing to help get this town cleaned up.”
Code enforcement said it hopes to have the tire take-back program operating in the summer of 2020.
Compliance officers also said they are looking for sponsorship. To see how you can help with the program click here.