Volunteers sought for Ohio River Sweep
Trending
PARKERSBURG -- Volunteers are being sought to participate in the Ohio River Sweep on Aug. 26.
The river sweep has not been held since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The Wood County Solid Waste Authority agreed to host the event this year with the cooperation of Parkersburg city officials, said Director Sarah Robinson.
''We are looking for volunteers who want to come down and help clean the banks along the Ohio River,'' she said. ''They can do it along any stretch of the Ohio River. If anyone has a group and they want to come down and clean a certain area along the Ohio River, they can certainly do that.''
The SWA is providing trash bags and gloves. Participants also will receive a free T-shirt and a light lunch at noon after the event.
Participants will gather at the amphitheater at Point Park starting at 7:30 a.m. to register. The sweep itself will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Robinson is asking people to contact her office at 304-424-1873 as soon as possible to register. Volunteers also are being asked to sign a waiver and she needs the volunteers' shirt sizes when they report to Point Park on Aug. 26.
If it is raining that day, the event will be moved to Sept. 2.
''It is important for people to keep the rivers clean and those waterways clean and free of litter,'' Robinson said. ''The Wood County Solid Waste Authority is excited to host an Ohio River Sweep event this year. This event is a great opportunity to remove litter from the riverbanks in our community and an important part of keeping our waterways clean.''
Robinson, as a local volunteer firefighter, has volunteered at past sweeps with good turnouts of volunteers. She is hoping to regenerate interest.
''I am happy to bring the Ohio River Sweep back to our county," she said.
The Wood County Solid Waste Authority is partnering with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission to do the sweep.
The ORSANCO Ohio River Sweep program is composed of numerous litter cleanup events along the Ohio River and throughout the entire watershed. The program raises public awareness about the need for healthy rivers and streams within the Ohio River Basin and is an opportunity for environmental stewardship. The Wood County event will be participating along with thousands of volunteers taking part in hundreds of cleanups across the basin to remove trash from local waterways, according to ORSANCO.
The Ohio River is 981 miles long, starting at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers in Pittsburgh and ending in Cairo, Ill., where it flows into the Mississippi River. More than 30 million people live in the Ohio River Basin and the Ohio River is a source of drinking water for more than 5 million people.
"It's important for everyone in the Ohio River Basin to remember we are all a part of this watershed and by working together these types of cleanup events have a major impact on water quality," ORSANCO Executive Director Richard Harrison said. "It creates a connection and sense of belonging to a local purpose with a global impact. Each volunteer contribution is valuable and truly makes a difference."