We want to thank everyone again for an outstanding clean-up effort. We had 23 boats on the water, mostly kayaks, plus Lake Jackson and Lake Ridge VFDs providing emergency support if needed.
Here is a summary of results. Twenty kayaks and three canoes were launched at the Lake Jackson Dam put-in site to collect debris along the Occoquan River on 10 April from 9am to 4:30pm. Another 38 volunteers cleaned up debris at the Lake Jackson Dam put-in site, Riverview Estates HOA, Occoquan Forest HOA and Canyon Bluff HOA take-out sites. This was a collaborative effort that involved members of the Prince William County Park Authority, Public Works, Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition, the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District, three Home Owners Associations; rescue boats from Lake Jackson VFD and the Lake Ridge OWL VFD, The Friends of Occoquan, and members of the Dale City Civic Association. Coordination was made with the Alice Ferguson Foundation for plastic bags and gloves who sponsored the Chesapeake Water Shed Clean-up effort. Liaison with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority was made to provide free launch passes to kayakers/canoeists entering from the Bull Run Marina or Fountainhead Marina.
The following is a list of the debris removed from the Occoquan River starting at the Lake Jackson Dam put-in point, including litter collected below the Dam site, and that taken out at Riverview Estates HOA and Canon Bluff HOA.
Filled one (1) 30 cu yd Roll-off Dumpster
Filled 2 cu yd of another Dumpster
Collected: 153 non-recyclable bags of trash
30 recyclable bags of material
30 tires
10-55 gal drums, metal chairs, chains
3 broken canoes
25 feet of one inch steel cable
2 10ft x 10ft inflatable swimming pools
6 broken Canadian Geese decoys
1 pink flamingo lawn ornament
The Project Officer for this effort was Ed Dandar and can be reached at 703-791-6158 or [email protected] if you have any questions.
The News and Messenger wrote an article covering the event as well.