Volunteers from all along the Ohio River are coming together to clean up litter ahead of America’s River Roots Festival.
The end-of-season Ohio River Sweep on Saturday will be one of the largest in years, according to event organizer Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission.
There will be approximately 20 cleanup sites throughout the Ohio River watershed, including 11 in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Many are new for the program, and near the location of the upcoming festival.
“The goal is to make the river as beautiful as it can be,” said Rachel Toney, Ohio River Sweep program coordinator.
America’s River Roots will take place on the riverfront in Cincinnati and Newport Oct. 8-12. The festival is a celebration of the culture and traditions of the country's inland river cities. It will kick off America’s 250th anniversary.
Toney says she hopes attendees leave the festival with a new perception of the waterway.
“The Ohio River kind of gets a bad rap because of its history... but it's a lot healthier now than it used to be,” Toney said. "So, we thought that by making it beautiful ahead of the River Roots Festival, and making sure that it's very cleaned up for that day, that people would come out ... and they can see the river serene and spotless and say, 'Oh, wow, this is a lot cleaner than I expected.' "
More than 300 volunteers are signed up for the cleanup currently. Toney says that’s significantly more than ORSANCO usually sees for its annual end-of-season sweep.
The Ohio River Way, Rotary International, and dozens of other organizations have teamed up to organize cleanup sites. ORSANCO will provide gloves and trash bags for participants.
Toney says the trash that ends up near Cincinnati often originates upstream, making it important to stop litter at its source to prevent it from getting into the river.
The Ohio River provides drinking water for more than 5 million people, according to ORSANCO.
How to volunteer
Volunteers can register online or at a cleanup site starting at 8:30 a.m. The river sweep is Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
America's River Roots cleanup locations:
- Gilday Riverside Park Boat Ramp (paddlecraft only)
- Schmidt Boat Ramp
- New Richmond Riverfront
- Covington Plaza
- Newport Festival Park & Riverboat Row
- Bellevue Beach Park
- Dayton Manhattan Harbour
- NKU Research and Education Field Station
- Ohio River Launch Club (private site for Launch Club volunteers only)
- 4th Street Bridge (private site for Williams Creek Management volunteers only)
- Queen City Rowing Club (private site for Queen City Rowing Club, Cardinal Land Conservancy, Roads Rivers and Trails, and Adventure Crew volunteers only)
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