Athens area residents wade into local rivers, lakes and streams as part of the continuing statewide campaign to clean and preserve over 70,000 miles of Georgia’s rivers and streams. The effort is part of Rivers Alive, a joint program of the Environmental Protection Division Outreach Education Programs and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.

 The annual Georgia Waterway Cleanup is the largest single volunteer effort to beautify Georgia’s water resources.  Volunteers in Athens stage their cleanup in October at Dudley Park.  They join an estimated 25,000 other volunteers statewide participating in the annual river cleanup.  This fall over 200 cleanups will collect trash and similar debris in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and the ocean from Tallulah Gorge in North Georgia to the Satilla River in the South.  

Rivers Alive in Athens is organized by Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, ACC Solid Waste, ACC Transportation and Public Works/Stormwater Division, ACC Leisure Services, ACC Public Utilities/Water Conservation Office, Keep Oconee County Beautiful, Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN), UGA Office of Service Learning.  

Visit the Rivers Alive State Website for more information about this statewide project.