The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission’s River Sweep is rallying volunteers to clean up the riverbank in Newport and Covington Saturday.
The program works to protect the Ohio River’s water quality, aquatic life, and recreational value by hosting litter cleanups from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Ill.
Last year, volunteers from all 125 cleanup sites along the river removed more than 90 tons of trash from the waterway.
Ohio River Sweep Program Coordinator Rachel Toney says the debris didn’t all originate from communities on the Ohio River.
“There's hundreds of tributaries that feed into the Ohio River — it's not just trash starting from that main stem. It's also trash that's starting from all these other smaller streams and rivers that ultimately ends up in the Ohio,” she said.
Cleaning up benefits millions of people who rely on the Ohio River for drinking water and hundreds of species of fish, Toney says.
She says the ultimate goal is to get to a point where there's no litter in the water.
ORSANCO is providing free cleanup supplies, including gloves and trash bags, for volunteers at this weekend’s events.
Newport cleanup: Hosted by WAVE Foundation
Check-in begins at 9 a.m. under the Taylor Southgate Bridge and goes until 11:30 a.m. Volunteers will clean an extended one-mile stretch along Riverboat Row and onto the Licking River shoreline. Participants will receive a souvenir t-shirt provided by ORSANCO and enjoy a free lunch from Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria.
Registration is required at wavefoundation.org/events/riversweep.
Covington cleanup: Hosted by the City of Covington and Keep Covington Beautiful
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and includes a light breakfast and lunch for participants. Volunteers will meet at 14 Pete Rose Pier in Covington, cleaning the shoreline west from the mouth of the Licking River to Route 8 and the Brent Spence Bridge. Volunteers will receive a souvenir t-shirt provided by ORSANCO.
Register at KCB’s Ohio River Sweep page.
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