Beautiful weather greeted an estimated 175 volunteers who came out to participate in the 2014 Rivers Alive on Lake Oconee on Saturday, Oct. 25.

This was the 13th annual Lake Oconee Rivers Alive event that is organized and sponsored each year by the Lake Oconee Water Watch (LOWW). The event was part of the statewide annual Rivers Alive cleanup of streams, rivers, and lakes in Georgia.

In 2013, there were 281 cleanup events in Georgia that saw more than 124,000 volunteers take to the waterways across the state to clean trash and debris from the waterways and from areas around the waterways. Since the program began in 1999, volunteers have collected close to 9 million pounds of trash.

Waterways are the earth’s life support system. When we choke the waterways with our trash, we jeopardize many things on planet earth. It becomes a threat to our economy, threatens wildlife and habitat and becomes a threat to our health and food safety.

Before you dispose of trash inappropriately, think about the damage you may be doing to the environment. It takes fishing line 600 years to decompose, it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to decompose, it takes 200 years for an aluminum can to decompose and it takes several years for a plastic bag to decompose.

Walking volunteers cleaned up areas around four bridges and shorelines on Highway 44; the Sugar Creek boat ramp, bridge and shoreline; Lick Creek bridge and shoreline; bank fishing area near Putnam/Greene bridge on Highway 44; bank fishing area near Jerry’s on Highway 44; Armor Bridge boat ramp; the Highway 16 boat ramp and parking area in Hancock County; the Long Shoals boat ramp and the Redlands boat ramp. Volunteers also went out in boats to clean up Goat Island, Rock Island and several other lake islands.

Volunteers worked for about three hours cleaning up those sites around Lake Oconee. All the clean up volunteers received goody bags, a Rivers Alive T-shirt and a great lunch provided by Georgia Power. A silent auction for clean up participants took place and that auction included several nice items that were donated by various organizations for the cleanup event.

Groups participating in the cleanup included Lake Oconee Water Watch (the organization sponsoring the cleanup); Georgia Power Company and its employees; Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam County; residents of the Del Webb community; members of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro; students and adults from the Lake Oconee Academy Beta Club; residents from The Point; residents from Cedar Cove and Sebastian Cove; employees from the Ritz-Carlton Lodge; members of the Lake Oconee Anglers and Citizens’ Involvement Committee; residents from Horseshoe Bend and Great Waters; a group of employees from Rock Eagle and students from the Putnam County High School Anchor Club.

To get some personal perspective of the cleanup, I talked to the four Putnam County High School students who participated in the event.

“This was my first time participating in a Rivers Alive clean up and honestly at first I was not sure about picking up trash,” said Harley Summerlin, a junior at Putnam County High School. “But I actually had a great time.”

“I could not believe that such a small area that we cleaned up could have so much trash,” said Kelly Howe also a junior at Putnam County High School. “We found toys, metal road signs, automobile seats and a variety of other trash.”

Two other students Emily Newsome and Jarod Knight talked about the importance of the clean up and what it meant for the environment and all four students said they would gladly participate in the clean up again.

Local event donors/sponsors for the cleanup included Lake Oconee Water Watch; The Peoples Bank; Georgia Power and its employees; Crow Marine; Ann & Alan Foster; Lake Oconee Dentistry; Oconee Boatlifts; Publix; Reynolds Plantation; Sheriff Howard Sills; Anna Haslbauer; Jim and Jeanne Wagner; Georgia Power Distribution Center; Belladonna Salon; Ritz-Carlton; Sugar Creek Marina; Lake Oconee Center for Dental Health; Haband; Bob Landau; Green and Putnam County Rotary Clubs; Hallman Ace Hardware; Bank South; Bodyplex Gym; Exchange Bank; Virginia Linch and Suntrust Bank.

Janet Pearson is the President of Lake Oconee Water Watch and she along with her team that included Anna Haslbauer, Phil Beck, Jack and Rosalyn Carson, Nell Pate, Melinda Self, Kathy Stephan and Jeanne Wagner and Jim Wagner should be congratulated for their untiring efforts each year that makes this annual event the great success that it has become.

Remember to always take a trash bag along on outings to the lake. Don’t be tempted to dump your trash into and around the lake. Keep Lake Oconee and all our Georgia lakes, rivers, streams and roadways clean and beautiful for all to enjoy. See you next week.