Archived Outdoors

Adopt A Stream helps clean Clyde waterway

Representatives from the town of Clyde and HomeTrust Bank removed 80 pounds of trash Saturday, Sept. 7, from the small tributary of the Pigeon River. It was the town’s first waterway cleanup since it adopted the stream next to the Clyde Fire Station as part of Haywood Waterways’ Adopt A Stream program. Participating organizations “adopt” a stream to clean up its trash and improve its water quality.

It took about two hours for the group of nine to collect the trash, which was mostly plastic soda bottles and shopping bags.

A larger stream-cleaning event, Haywood County’s Big Sweep, will be held on Sept. 21. Haywood Waterways is recruiting volunteers to help. 

Trash ends up in streams several ways, with the bulk entering through storm drains. Litter and trash from cars is washed by rain into streams and rivers. Much of the trash, particularly plastics, can take hundreds of years to decompose. Besides being ugly, trash is bad for wildlife and can clog drains and pipes, which can cause flooding and problems for water users in industry and agriculture.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.550.4869.

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.