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Washington County cleanup raises awareness about watersheds

5 min read
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Photo courtesy of Washington County Watershed Alliance

Three members of the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers group motored around in a boat on Canonsburg Lake and pulled a plastic porch chair and 50-gallon trash can from the murky waters.

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Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter

Al DeLucia, a Bethel Park resident and member of the McMurray Rotary Club, clears brush around Canonsburg Lake with his son-in-law, Chuck Davis of Canonsburg.

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Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter

Alexandra Davis of Canonsburg picks up litter around Canonsburg Lake.

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Photos: Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter

Gideon Bradshaw of Beechview carries brush away from Canonsburg Lake during Saturday morning’s cleanup.

Volunteers who fanned out around Canonsburg Lake during an organized cleanup Saturday found that its easily accessible banks where fisherman cast their lines were mostly free of litter and garbage.

But as some in the group ventured deep into the heavy brush far off the beaten path, they discovered beer cans, glass bottles, Styrofoam containers and even a perfectly intact Christmas ornament littered across the ground where there once had been late-night parties.

Elsewhere around the lake, three members of the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers group motored around in a boat to reach more inaccessible areas and even pulled a plastic porch chair and 50-gallon trash can from the murky waters.

The effort was part of a larger cleanup organized by the Washington County Watershed Alliance to remove litter, overgrown brush and debris from the lake and two sections of Chartiers Creek in Canonsburg and Houston. A total of 81 volunteers from numerous community groups, churches and local businesses blanketed the three sites and collected 30 bags of garbage and cleared parts of Chartiers Creek from debris that could eventually cause flooding.

But beyond the cleanup itself, the event was an effort to raise awareness on the importance of maintaining and preserving watersheds in Washington County.

“We really came at this from a different angle than other cleanups,” said Sam Carroll, a civil engineer and president of the Washington County Watershed Alliance. “We really want to improve access to the creek for the community to be able to adopt. … Without the community knowing the amazing resource they have right in their back yard, people tend to treat it like a Dumpster that just floods.”

Education was an important aspect with organizers explaining how what happens to the Chartiers Creek has an impact down stream in much larger bodies of water. A drop of rain that falls in Washington County will eventually make its way to the Gulf of Mexico from local tributaries by way of the Monongahela or Ohio rivers and into the Mississippi River.

Summer Voelker, a member of the Upper Chartiers Creek Watershed Association that is under the umbrella of the Washington County Watershed Alliance, was chatting with volunteers while registering them to work at Canonsburg Lake. She hoped cleanup events such as this one will lead to a “greater understanding of how your local creek or stream or lake ties into the larger ecosystem.”

“It’s really easy today to not know where the water goes when you flush or when it rains where it flows. … The small understanding of that helps,” she said.

Clay Kilgore, director of the Washington County Historical Society, agreed with that concept and explained how “preservation and conservation go together.” He applauded Carroll’s efforts to organize the cleanup and educate the public on the importance of the watersheds.

“He’s preserving history by doing this,” Kilgore said. “It’s still being used today. If you don’t keep it clean, you’re going to lose all the benefits of it.”

Kilgore pointed to the historical significance of Chartiers Creek and how it begins as just a couple of springs near Route 18 in South Franklin Township and eventually becomes a wide waterway when it eventually reaches the Ohio River in McKees Rocks. Early settlers to this area used the creek to help them transport commerce to other parts of the country.

“This is how they got their goods down the river and all the way to New Orleans,” Kilgore said. “Those goods are going worldwide and it starts on the Chartiers Creek. I think that’s amazing.”

But beyond history, there was also a practical side to the cleanup to make the creek and lake both safe and beautiful for visitors. Al DeLucia, a Bethel Park resident and member of the McMurray Rotary Club, was clearing brush and picking up litter around Canonsburg Lake with his daughter, Alexandra, and her husband, Chuck Davis.

He called the lake a “real jewel for the community” and wants to ensure that it’s around so future generations can enjoy it. He also acknowledged that it will take effort from the community to preserve it.

“It’s still a much-needed community effort to keep the lake viable,” DeLucia said. “People always assume this lake will always be here and they assume someone else will take care of it.”

There were plenty of people to help on this sunny Saturday morning. They came from various groups, businesses and organizations, including Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church, The Dreamers Co., Boy Scout Troop 1305, the Houston Volunteer Fire Department, Washington & Jefferson College, WashPA Outdoors Co. and Pennsylvania American Water, among others. They had a range of options for cleanup between the more strenuous tasks of clearing brush and debris dams or easier duties such as picking up litter.

“We wanted it to be accessible to everyone. Even if you have limited mobility, you could get involved,” Voelker said. “Pick your own adventure.”

Meanwhile, Carroll is working on a feasibility study to build a trail that runs along the Chartiers Creek and connects the Montour Trail near Southpointe to Washington. He hopes organizers can build on the momentum from this weekend’s event for larger cleanups in the future to help spur the trail project.

“This really is just the first step and the first stage,” Carroll said. “Cleanup wise, this was a trial run for larger projects.”

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