Five weeks after they were inundated with floodwater, the trails along the Monongahela and Allegheny riverfronts in Downtown Pittsburgh remain fouled with mud, dirt and debris.

While some effort has been made to clean both trails, expanses of dried mud remained at both ends of the new $3 million riverwalk on the Mon Wharf on Friday, along with driftwood and garbage that washed up during the mid-March flooding.

On the Allegheny trail that passes under the Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson bridges, a dried rim of mud that was plowed from the walkway still lined portions of the river's edge and the area was dusty and strewn with trash.

Those conditions presented themselves not only to Pittsburghers who took advantage of the early afternoon's sunny, warm weather for a stroll; they also greeted out-of-town visitors here for Penguins and Pirates games.

The situation has caught the attention of Riverlife, the nonprofit organization that plans and advocates riverfront improvements and developed the wharf walkway, which opened last year.

Maintenance of the trails is the city Public Works Department's responsibility, and Riverlife recently met with city officials to "go over maintenance procedures and remind them what's available," including high-pressure hose connections that were built on the wharf, agency spokesman Stephan Bontrager said.

"We want to see the Mon Wharf park looking its best. We hope the city does, too," he said.

"It's a new area to maintain," Mr. Bontrager said of the walkway, which was dedicated in November. "We anticipated that it might take the city some time to adapt to the new procedures."

Also, he noted, the city had a long list of maintenance issues to deal with after a brutal winter of blizzards and flooding.

"Any time you have an open-air public space, it's going to be a challenge to keep it pristine," Mr. Bontrager said.

By contrast, the walkway on the North Shore across from Downtown has long since been cleared of any flood remnants.

"It's a magnet for people on weekends and after work," Mr. Bontrager said.

That trail is maintained by the Pirates, Steelers and private property owners, with the city contributing to flood cleanup, he said.

The wharf has flooded twice since the 2,017-foot walkway opened. While its developers said the walkway and landscaping were designed to withstand flooding, city public works and parking officials said the new amenities inhibit cleanup efforts.

The project added long stretches of concrete enclosures that rise several feet above the surface and are planted with trees and grasses. The enclosures act as a roadblock to receding floodwater and to cleanup workers, who must push the remaining debris, mud and standing water around them, through openings that were placed about 150 feet apart.

City Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski said Friday the city hopes to begin work on the trails next week. He said crews have been focusing on pothole repairs.

He said in February that the wharf design "is conducive to a trail but it's not conducive to parking and flooding issues."

"That design is terrible," he repeated on Friday.

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