Volunteers rally to clean up Waterfront Park in Louisville after historic flooding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As flood waters of the Ohio River receded Saturday morning, volunteers and work crews started the process of cleaning up Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville.

Hundreds of volunteers answered the call in less than 24 hours after Waterfront Park organized a community clean up effort.

"A lot of people say somebody should do this so we are the somebodies who need to come out. I feel like it's our duty," said Mary Hartlage, a Louisville resident who volunteered Saturday.

Volunteers were asked to remove pieces of garbage before crews collected the large debris around the park.

"Sometimes you think what difference does one person make, but all these people one person at a time came and it is making an impact on this," said Joan Alvey, a Louisville resident.

Some volunteers helped, even when they could use some help themselves.

Kyle Martin lives on River Road in Louisville, but he's been displaced because of the flooding. That didn't stop him from volunteering Saturday morning.

"It's been unfortunate being displaced, but what's nice is the city has come together and offered a lot of different forms of assistance," Martin said. "It speaks to the nature of Louisville, the real heart of the city being the community coming out, really taking care of the city."

Near historic flooding left driftwood, a variety of garbage and even a boat at Waterfront Park.

"The water has finally receded, by Monday it will be mostly down, our crews are already working around Waterfront Park, and other parts of the city," Mayor Craig Greenberg said. "We want to get Louisville back clean ASAP. And that's what we're going to do."

The top-10 flooding event washed out people's sense of normalcy this spring.

"You know the impact this has on people's lives, it's just very upsetting," Alvey said. "Anything we can do to help."

But even with Thunder Over Louisville canceled, volunteers wanted the Waterfront Park to get right.

"It is so amazing to see over 300 people show up with less than 24 hours notice to help their city they all love," Greenberg said. "I've never been more proud to be mayor of this city."

Ramiro's Cantina partnered with World Central Kitchen to provide 250 breakfasts and 200 lunches, all for free, to volunteers.

"We all live here, we all live in Louisville, this is our city, this is our community and we should take care of it," said Ramiro Gandara, owner of Ramiro's Cantina. "They're loving the food, they're helping us clean the Waterfront."

Ohio River water levels near downtown Louisville are expected to return to normal in the coming days.

But clean up efforts have just started ahead of the Kentucky Derby - now less than three weeks away.

"We want to make our city shine and with all of this, if we can get it cleaned up before they get here, the better," Hartlage said. "We have so many things around Louisville people can come and see that we want them to come and see our Waterfront."

Greenberg said the city hopes to have the Waterfront Park cleaned up and ready for the Kentucky Derby Festival's upcoming events later this month like Fest-a-Ville and the Chow Wagon.