Volunteers worked at four sites on Saturday, September 26, gathering trash from the upper Occoquan River, the Hooes Run section of the Occoquan Reservoir, and stormwater ponds (including the border of a commuter lot) in Lake Ridge. Here are photos of the volunteers in action at each site, and the trash that they were able to retrieve from the water & shorelines.
Hooes Run – Working from the Lake Ridge Parks & Recreation Association (HOA) boat ramp, volunteers collected about 20 bags of trash (mostly plastic bottles & cups and other plastic items), three tires, and a bike. Thanks to LRPRA for hauling away the trash.
Stormwater pond & commuter lot – representatives of the PW Soil & Water Conservation District coordinated the cleanup at the commuter lot (located at the corner of Minnieville Rd and Old Bridge Rd) in Lake Ridge. Twenty-eight volunteers participated, resulting in an estimated the debris load collected from this site at 2,675 pounds of trash.
Some major items collected were: A large sofa, 2 chairs, 3 VDOT cones, asphalt shingles (actually dumped), a mattress, 3 shopping carts, 3 tires, construction materials- concrete, plywood, pipes, a bucket of paint, auto oil, auto parts, 2 large TVs, 3 tires, a large grill, among other items. Miscellaneous items collected were plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, plastic wrappers, etc.
A big shout-out to the Gainesville Supervisor, George Stewart, who showed up with his office staff. And a big shout out to the Woodbridge Senior High School Students, the Patriot HS Students, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and the Lions Club members
Riverview Estates – volunteers worked from the Riverview Estates HOA boat ramp on the upper Occoquan. Thanks to the crew from the Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization (NoVAGO) for their support at this site.
Occoquan Forest – thanks to the residents of the Occoquan Forest HOA on the upper Occoquan who participated in the cleanup from their boat ramp.
