Georgia Power helps renew Rome’s rivers
On foot and by boat, Georgia Power employees renewed local rivers by
picking up trash around Rome’s three rivers: the Etowah, Oostanaula and
Coosa.
Partnering with Keep RomeFloyd Beautiful, the volunteers
met bright and early at the
Rome-Floyd E.C.O. River
Education Center. From there,
they divided into groups for
river cleanup as a part of the
Renew our Rivers campaign.
“This year, instead of focusing
on just one river like we’ve
done in the past, we touched
Rome as a whole by cleaning the rivers that go through it,” said Lindsey
Box, lab technician at Plant Hammond, who coordinated the event for
Georgia Power.
Box explained that volunteers were able to choose their cleanup spot. The
Oostanaula River, located right in front of the E.C.O River Education
Center, served as a spot for participants who wanted to walk to clean the
river bank. The Etowah River provided a cleanup area for canoers and
kayakers. And volunteers who chose the Coosa River used motor boats
due to the river’s depth.
By event’s end, volunteers were happy to say it was getting a little more
difficult to find what they were looking for.
“I kept hearing over and over, there’s hardly any trash,” said Mary Hardin
Thornton, director of Keep Rome-Floyd Beautiful. “It’s just proof that
education works, conservation works and Georgia Power allowing us to
work with its employees and use its equipment for sixteen years and
counting has paid off.”
This year, 640 lbs. of debris was collected along the Oostanaula River, and
880 lbs. was collected from the Etowah and Coosa Rivers, including four
tires, compared to 1.1 tons of trash, several tires and a couple of
abandoned boats at nearby Brushy Branch last year, Thornton said.
Each volunteer had his own way of searching for trash. Ashley Koby,
distribution manager, and his 11-year-old son used a jet ski to reach the
“not–so-accessible” trash.
Sales Executive Jeff White’s method was to “Get as much trash out of the
log jams.”
White collected a bag and a half of trash plus a plastic chair from the
Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers.
“It’s all about lending a hand,” said Tyler Walls, lineman. “These are our
rivers, and we need to do our part to preserve it.”
After the cleanup, volunteers were able to tour the E.C.O River Education
Center and enjoy the Sulzbacher Roman Holiday tour. The Sulzbacher
Roman Holiday tour is Rome’s 45-passenger excursion boat that allows
passengers to tour Rome’s rivers.