Hundreds participate in River Sweep

Hundreds of Clermont County residents participated in Operation River Sweep June 21.

Beautiful weather greeted the volunteers as they gathered at the five county river front staging areas to participate in the annual beautification effort, which entailed picking up litter and debris from the Ohio River’s shoreline and its numerous tributaries.

For four hours on Saturday, the volunteers walked the river’s waterfront areas and picked up garbage. After receiving trash bags, safety gloves, outdoor kits, and complimentary T-shirts, the volunteers went to work in the 19th annual clean-up event.

One of those volunteers was New Richmond resident Claire Burns.

"We like to participate in the river sweep," she said. "It is nice to help keep the river nice and beautiful. It should be a daily event."

According to Jeanne Ison, River Sweep 2008 coordinator, that is one of the goals of the annual clean-up event.

"Not only does the event clean up the river shoreline, but it raises people's awareness levels," Ison said. "Keeping the river shoreline clean is something that we all can do every day."

Sponsored by the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), the nationally recognized River Sweep is an annual clean-up effort which encompasses the entire 1,962 mile length of the Ohio River, through six states, from its origin in Pittsburgh to its end in Illinois.

Last year, 395 volunteers in Clermont removed more than one thousand bags of litter and debris.