Keep Newton Beautiful (KNB) needs volunteers to help clean up local waterways on September 21. KNB coordinates a local Rivers Alive event each fall, with about 400 people participating in the cleanup annually. KNB’s river cleanup event is designed to bring awareness to water pollution prevention and solutions for water pollution problems, through actively removing litter from local waterways.

The Newton County Rivers Alive event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21. Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at Longhorn Steakhouse of Covington. They should wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. Volunteers will receive free t-shirts and breakfast, while supplies last. They will split into teams and go to local streams, lakes, and rivers to clean.

The event will feature groups cleaning along area rivers and tributaries. As individuals and groups meet at Longhorn, they will be assigned to various access points along the Alcovy River, South River, and Yellow River, their tributaries, and local lakes.

Interested volunteers should visit KNB’s website: www.keepnewtonbeautiful.org, where they can print registration forms. They should fill out forms and email them to KNB by Sept. 16 to reserve their supplies. Volunteers interested in designating certain places for groups to clean should email Laurie Riley at KNB at lriley@co.newton.ga.us.

“We appreciate all of the volunteers who participate every year, and we welcome those new to the event. Our goal is to continue to grow the Rivers Alive event each year and to bring greater awareness to the necessity of litter prevention and pollution prevention,” Riley said. “We want to thank all of our local sponsors who gave generous donations to support our event.”

The local cleanup event is a collaborative effort organized by KNB and the Georgia Wildlife Federation. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Program and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation sponsor Rivers Alive on the state level. Local sponsors are the City of Covington, Newton County Board of Commissioners, Newton County Water Resources, Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, Mamie’s Kitchen—Brown Bridge Road location, and Longhorn Steakhouse of Covington.

For more information, please contact KNB at lriley@co.newton.ga.us or 770-784-2015 or visit the website: www.keepnewtonbeautiful.org.