Ohio River Cleanup Done;
Rock River Event September 16
Streams benefit from volunteers' efforts
Rains which plagued Southern Illinois in early summer took a break on
June 17, allowing more than 500 volunteers to carry out the annual Ohio
River Sweep. This year's event was the 11th annual cleanup day along the
banks of the Ohio for the length of the river, organized by the Ohio River
Valley Water Sanitation Commission. The Illinois EPA coordinates the Sweep
in the six Illinois counties that border the river. Volunteers collected
more than 1000 bags of trash.
In the northern part of the state, the Rock River Sweep 2000 is scheduled
for Sept. 16, with a rain date of Sept. 23. Participating volunteers will be
provided with garbage bags, gloves, refreshments and free commemorative tee-shirts.
In previous years the Rock River event was held in early summer, but in 1999
was postponed until autumn because of high water in June. This year, the board
of directors voted to stay with the fall cleanup date. River Sweep efforts will
be carried out along the Rock River in Winnebago County and many of the smaller
tributary streams. Last fall, 24 locations were targeted for clean up and enough
volunteers turned out to pick up and properly dispose of litter and debris on
16 of them.
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