News
October 4, 2008
HCWSA and Henry County Stormwater host successful Rivers Alive river cleanup
Approximately 186 volunteers team up to clean up a portion of the South River
These HCWSA employees and their families were among the 186 volunteers at River Alive. (L to R): Norman Thacker, Cassandra Powell, Matt Hunt, Ronnie Powell, Katie Powell (in front), Kirk Emerson, Gene Ritch, Tyler Colbert (in front), Jeff Russell, Gene Smith, Michael Lloyd (kneeling), Tonja Mincey, Doug Martin, Lesa Walker, David Hood, Tony Carnell, Jonah Newell (in front), and Jeremy Newell.
Realizing the importance of protecting local waterways such as the South River, which feeds sources for drinking water and outdoor recreation, local volunteers accepted the challenge to take part in the fourth annual Rivers Alive river cleanup, hosted recently by Henry County Stormwater Management and the Henry County Water & Sewerage Authority (HCWSA).
The overwhelming success of the event was evident in the record number of 186 volunteers in attendance and the 4 tons of trash along the South River shoreline they were able to collect, said the Authority’s Tonja Mincey, one of the event organizers who scouted the cleanup location – the area of the river adjacent to the Old Snapping Shoals neighborhood, at the intersection of River Road and Old Snapping Shoals Road in McDonough. Volunteers included all types of outdoor enthusiasts, from elementary-school-aged Scouts to HCWSA Board Member Kirk Emerson.
“We were blown away by the number of citizens who came out to help,” said Mincey, shortly after serving lunch to the record crowd, who also walked away with event t-shirts while supplies lasted. “In addition to employees from the County and the Water Authority, we had Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, local residents and property owners in the area, educators, and overall, just a lot of people who care for their community, especially their environment,” she added.
One of those volunteers was caught fly fishing following the event, perhaps his personal payoff for a job well done during the morning hours. Chris Kodani, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of biology at Clayton State University, who also teaches public Adopt-A-Stream classes locally. He was one of many people on hand who have a personal and professional interest in keeping local waters clean for drinking water production and recreational purposes.
“What a nice effort by a lot of people who turned out to help,” noted Dr. Kodani. “I was amazed by the amount of trash we collected, and people were able to clean up to 40 or 50 feet off the banks of the river. The event went great, and this is a beautiful site in which to work.”
Rivers Alive is a statewide volunteer cleanup event that targets all waterways in Georgia, including streams, rivers, lakes, beaches, and wetlands. The mission of Rivers Alive is to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of the Georgia’s water resources through waterway cleanups, which typically are held each fall all across the state. It is the state’s largest single volunteer effort to beautify Georgia’s water resources.
Rivers Alive was organized years ago by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division’s Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Program, as well as the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful Program, in cooperation with the Columbus “Help the Hooch” campaign.
In addition to providing the community with fresh drinking water, Georgia’s waterways are also the resources for outdoor recreational opportunities, such as fishing and canoeing. Educating the public on how to reduce or eliminate stormwater pollution was at the heart of the objectives of the local Rivers Alive river cleanup, noted Erik Lombard, Henry County Stormwater Management Director. Everyone contributes to some degree to polluting waterways, though they may not be aware of it, he said.
“From fertilizers and other chemicals we spray on our lawns, to oil from parking lots, it all eventually ends up in our waterways,” said Lombard. “The annual Rivers Alive cleanup event is (a way for citizens) to give back to the environment and protect our waterways from stormwater pollution.”
Media Contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (cell)
jcwood@uga.edu (email)
