Volunteers are needed for the 22nd Annual River Sweep on June 16 from 8 a.m. to noon in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties. 

“This event teaches river awareness and respect for our natural resource,” said Betsy Mallison, Pennsylvania River Sweep Coordinator. “Get your family involved, teach them about our waterways and help make a difference in our water quality.”

The River Sweep, an annual six-state effort to clean up litter and debris in the Ohio River watershed, is the largest organized volunteer river cleanup effort in the country. The event winds through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Illinois, covering more than 2,400 miles of shoreline.

In Pennsylvania, it is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission and a number of Pennsylvania corporate sponsors including Duquesne Light, Dominion Foundation, Duke Energy, Koppers, PPG Industries Foundation, Neville Chemical Company, Rex Energy, Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources and Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.

Last year, more than 600 volunteers collected 65 tons of the trash, 200 tires and other debris along the Ohio, Allegheny, Beaver, Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and their tributaries at 20 cleanup sites.  Volunteers who participate receive trash bags and a souvenir T-shirt.

Residents can find out more about area River Sweep cleanup locations, by checking the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission website.

6/18/2012