Looking for an opportunity to help clean up your watershed and improve the water quality of your streams? Then join Raritan Headwaters Association for our 26^th Annual Stream Clean Up on Saturday, April 16. 
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine, at multiple sites along the Raritan River throughout Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris Counties.
Everyone is invited to participate, from individuals and families to businesses, civic organizations and church groups, at the site of their choice. Bags, gloves, t-shirts and snacks will be provided. Participants need only bring their enthusiasm.
 
RHA’s largest annual volunteer event, the Stream Clean Up directly and immediately benefits both the North and South Branches of the Raritan River. In 2015, more than a thousand volunteers helped RHA remove nearly 10 tons of trash from sites in 29 towns. In just three hours, the small army collected an assortment of debris that ranged from tangled fishing line, plastic bags and bottles, to a Ford pickup tailgate, leaf blower, tires, and 300 pounds of scrap metal.
 
“Wind, rain and snowmelt wash litter from the land into our local streams which could adversely impact the drinking water of nearly 1.5 million New Jersey residents.  By cleaning up areas along waterways, volunteers play a very important role in helping to preserve water quality, not only in our neighborhoods, but all the way down to the Atlantic Ocean,” said Angela Gorczyca, RHA Water Quality Program Manager and event leader.
 
“We value and depend on our volunteers. We can’t keep our streams clean without them. Not only do they help preserve all the wildlife and life forms that require our rivers to remain clean, but we all depend on the clean drinking water that comes from our watershed,” said RHA Executive Director Cindy Ehrenclou.
 
Volunteers can register www.raritanheadwaters.org/StreamCleanUp. For more information, contact Angela Gorczyca at 908-234-1852, ext. 315 or agorczyca@raritanheadwaters.org.
 
About Raritan Headwaters Association
 
The largest watershed organization in New Jersey, Raritan Headwaters Association has been working since 1959 to protect, preserve and improve water quality and other natural resources of the Raritan River headwaters region through efforts in science, education, advocacy, land preservation and stewardship. RHA’s 470-square-mile region provides clean drinking water to 400,000 residents of 39 municipalities in Somerset, Hunterdon and Morris counties and beyond to some 1.5 million homes and businesses in New Jersey's densely populated urban areas. RHA has achieved statewide impact and is a proud recipient of the 2015 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award. To learn more about the Raritan Headwaters Association, please visit www.raritanheadwaters.org or call (908) 234-1852.