More than 90 volunteers removed thousands of pounds of garbage from Connoquenessing Creek Saturday in the fourth annual creek cleanup event.

The Allegheny Aquatic Alliance nonprofit hosts the cleanup each summer. This year, volunteers focused on a 15-mile stretch of the about 50-mile creek spanning from the Oneida Valley Reservoir to Renfrew.

It will be the final cleanup in the county because the group will move into Beaver and Lawrence counties beginning next summer.

“Our goal has always been to restore the waterway to its natural state,” said Christina Handley, who founded the nonprofit with her husband, Mike, in 2012.

Volunteers removed nearly 150,000 pounds of garbage and 1,400 tires during the first three years of the cleanup.

“Definitely the bulk of the garbage had been there for decades,” Handley said. “But it’s discouraging when we see new garbage appear.”

The calm weather this week made for a successful event, Handley said. In previous years the group battled high water levels due to rain storms.

However, she said the heavy rains earlier this summer required a lot of preparation.

“The creek was so flooded with fallen trees and we had to go through there and clear it out,” she said.

She said the work over the years has paid off, as the creek is cleaner and clearer.

“In doing these cleanups, you realize how much waste people generate,” Handley said. “If people thought about how much garbage they produce, there wouldn’t be as much ending up in the water.”

Jim Davis, 95, of Center Township was cleaning the creek for the third year.

“I think it’s important for the environment to be taken care of for future generations,” he said.

Davis said he started attending the event after being recruited by his son, Rip Davis of Meridian.

“It’s good to get all these people together,” Jim Davis said. “There’s nice weather and nice people doing something good.”

Rip Davis said he got involved in the cleanup its first year after reading about it in the newspaper.

“When I saw all the stuff that came out of the creek — I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

He said he thinks the cleanups are making a difference.

“There’s wildlife in the creek,” he said. “I’ve seen snapping turtles, ducks and herons.”

Rip Davis has built skids that are operated by a winch that can help move piles of garbage from the banks of the creek up the steep hillsides.

“I noticed there would be piles of garbage piling up along the banks,” he said. “With the skids, we can winch it all up the hills.”

Mark and Traci Hemmerlin of Cranberry Township were cleaning with their three children, Mark, 14, and Alex and Shelby, both 10.

The family has been involved with the cleanup each of its four years.

“We wanted to teach the kids the long term effects of littering,” Traci Hemmerlin said.

She said the family has removed more than 60 tires from the creek.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Shelby said.

“It’s also a lot of work,” Mark added.

Each of the family members said they take pride in helping remove garbage from the creek, and they’ve found their share of garbage, which included coolers, propane tanks and toy chests.

“There’s a lot of chairs,” Mark said.

Traci Hemmerlin said it was eye-opening to see the amount of trash removed each year.

“After spending the day cleaning, I can guarantee the kids won’t be littering,” she said.

Handley said she expects crews to clean the about 20 miles of creek outside the county by the end of 2017. Once the entire creek has been cleaned, she hopes to begin maintenance cleanings each year across the entire waterway.