Volunteer for annual Sumter-area river sweep cleanup

Published: August 30, 2012

SUMTER — Help Sumter Stormwater Solutions keep local waterways clean of trash, debris and pollution during the 2012 Annual River Sweep Cleanup.

Volunteers can join the cleanup of Shot Pouch Creek from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 15 beginning at the YMCA/NAPA store parking lot, 530 Broad St. Registration is not required. 

Trash and debris will be collected along the greenway between Dillon and VIM parks.

For more information, contact Mary Caflisch, 803-865-1216, ext. 122, or mnevins@clemson.edu.

Sumter Stormwater Solutions will provide trash bags, safety vests, gloves and drinking water. Participants are encouraged to wear long pants and sturdy, closed-toed shoes.  

All volunteers are required to sign waivers. A parent or guardian must sign a waiver for all volunteers under the age of 18. Unaccompanied youth must be 14 years old or older. An adult must supervise any youth group of three people or more.

The annual River Sweep is South Carolina's largest one-day volunteer waterways cleanup event. It is organized statewide by S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

The 2012 Sumter River Sweep is hosted by Sumter Stormwater Solutions, a partnership between Clemson Extension, Sumter County and the city of Sumter. Sumter Stormwater Solutions is a regional collaboration involving Clemson University’ Carolina Clear program in partnership with communities and educators from universities, state agencies and nonprofits.

Last year, thousands of people across the state helped remove more than 38,000 pounds of litter and debris from rivers, swamps, beaches, lakes, marshes and creeks.

In 2009, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources placed a value of $30 billion to the state’s economy on a healthy environment. Litter and debris can decrease this value when parks and beaches become unsightly with litter and rivers become clogged with trash.

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Carolina Clear
Carolina Clear is a stormwater education and awareness program of the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the Center for Watershed Excellence. The program’s goal is to minimize polluted stormwater runoff by educating the general public, youth, builders, developers, homeowners and government officials about how they can keep water in the state’s streams, rivers and basins as clean as possible.