Effort cleans up 20-mile stretch

Volunteers removed more than 30,000 pounds of garbage and nearly 300 tires on Aug. 10 from the Connoquenessing Creek during a cleanup.

More than 130 volunteers worked through muddy conditions to remove the trash from a 20-mile stretch of the creek, spanning from Zelienople to the AK Steel plant just outside of Butler,

Volunteers doubled their coverage area in the second year of the cleanup project, adding an additional 10 miles to the original stretch cleaned last year, according to a news release by Allegheny Aquatic Alliance.

More than 55,000 pounds of garbage was removed during the cleanup in 2012.

The drop in the trash amount this year was not a disappointment to Christina Handley, the event’s organizer, considering the conditions volunteers worked in.

Heavy rains that week raised the water level and muddied the water in the creek.

Handley said weather played a significant role in the visibility of garbage, and the new 10 mile stretch of creek also had high banks and isolated shorelines, making for a difficult clean.

“Despite these undesirable conditions, we were able to remove a massive amount of garbage and tires,” she said in the release.

Handley said she plans to host another cleanup next year.

Over two years, volunteers have removed more than 85,000 pounds of garbage and nearly 900 tires from the creek.

Handley and her husband, Mike, organize the efforts through their nonprofit group, Allegheny Aquatic Alliance.

For information on the group, visit www.facebook.com/AlleghenyAquaticAlliance.