Cleanup targets waterways

Todd Baldwin is calling on volunteers to help keep Grovetown's waterways clean.

The city's Water and Sewer director has organized a creek cleanup Saturday to get trash out of two of the creeks that carry away the city's stormwater.

The cleanup, which will begin at 9 a.m., is part of the public awareness and education required by the state Environmental Protection Division.

"All this is pretty much proactive, to educate the public that this trash is here because people have thrown it here," Baldwin said, standing next to what he calls the City Creek. "If it keeps on, then not only are we going to have littered waterways and ugly, unsightly waterways, some of the stuff that gets into these waterways is harmful and can't be treated."

Baldwin said water from all outdoor activities such as rainwater and car washings ends up in the city's stormwater drains. Spilled oil that is not soaked up with cat litter will end up in the same waterways after the next rain, Baldwin said.

The cleanup will focus on the City Creek - a large concrete stormwater drain that runs through town to three retention ponds - and the accessible areas of Euchee Creek. Butler Creek, Baldwin said, is too inaccessible for volunteers.

The cleanup is being put on in association with Rivers Alive, a state organization focused on waterway cleanup and preservation. Georgia boasts more than 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, according to the organization.

"A lot of people don't stop and think that this water right here that is running through (all the city creeks) is eventually going to end up in the Savannah River somewhere," Baldwin said.

The cleanup should last until about noon. All the needed equipment such as rubber gloves and bags will be provided. The only item not provided by the city is poker sticks to pick up trash, Baldwin said.

Cleanup efforts will be focused along the City Creek and Euchee Creek at the trails and near the trails' bridges on Wrightsboro and Harlem-Grovetown roads, Baldwin said.

"It's not hard work," Baldwin said. "The heaviest thing you will probably pick up will be a 16-ounce glass bottle if you find it."

Baldwin said trash in the creeks has not become a large problem, and the cleanup is a way to educate Grovetown residents and to keep the trash problem a small one.

Anyone interested in volunteering needs to be at The Grovetown Trails at Euchee Creek at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call City Hall at (706) 863-4576.