Wednesday, December 02, 2009
After three rainouts, volunteers will wait until the spring to host Ocmulgee Alive!
Annual river cleanup event cancelled due to heavy rains and flooding
Mark Wyzalek (second from right), director of laboratory and environmental compliance for the MWA, said the date for Ocmulgee Alive! was changed to protect the safety of the volunteers working during the annual river cleanup. Flooding had occurred on the river during the previously scheduled dates.
First it was heavy rains and a major sewer main break at the base of the Macon Levee near Central City Park (see related story). Then it was Tropical Storm Ida. Finally, it was a batch of severe storms that dumped several inches of rain throughout Middle Georgia just a few days prior to the latest scheduled date of the event – Saturday, Dec. 5. So it appears the third time was not the charm for this year’s Ocmulgee Alive!
Following three schedule changes, due to these heavy rain events leading up to the annual river cleanup, volunteers will have to wait until the spring to take part in the fifth Ocmulgee Alive!
Mark Wyzalek, director of laboratory and environmental compliance for the MWA and an event organizer, was disappointed to have to announce the cancelation of the third attempt this fall to host Ocmulgee Alive! However, reports from the National Weather Service Wednesday revealed that the Ocmulgee River would crest at nearly 18 feet on Saturday – the day volunteers would be working in and along the river. That would be at least three feet above the river bank. Such flooding conditions would put volunteers at risk, and their safety is paramount, notes Wyzalek.
“This is the third time we’ve had to cancel our river cleanup this fall, due to the heavy rains and flooding we’ve had along Ocmulgee River, prior to each scheduled event,” he says. “Numerous other river cleanups throughout the state have been cancelled for the same reason.”
The goal of Ocmulgee Alive! is to help protect the Ocmulgee River, one of Middle Georgia’s primary sources for drinking water and outdoor recreation. The Ocmulgee, in addition to Javors Lucas Lake, provides raw water for drinking water production at the MWA’s Frank C. Amerson, Jr. Water Treatment Plant, which serves more than 50,000 customers in Macon and Bibb County.
Ocmulgee Alive! is affiliated with the statewide Rivers Alive events, which were organized by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division’s Adopt-a-Stream Program. Rivers Alive is Georgia’s annual volunteer cleanup that targets all waterways in the state, including streams, rivers, lakes, beaches, and wetlands. The mission of Rivers Alive is to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of Georgia’s water resources.
Sponsors of Ocmulgee Alive! – in addition to the Macon Water Authority and Friends of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail – include Graphic Packaging International, YKK USA, Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, and Ocmulgee Expeditions. Other organizations that participate in the annual river cleanup are the Georgia Wilderness Society, Mount de Sales Academy, the National Park Service/Ocmulgee National Monument, Historic Riverside Cemetery Conservancy, Wesleyan College’s Environmental Concerns Committee, and City of Macon Public Works.
“A great big thank you goes to YKK USA and Graphic Packaging International for their premier sponsorship and for their willingness to move the event to the spring,” says Wyzalek.
Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (cell)
jcwood@uga.edu (email)