The Macon Water Authority
790 Second Street • Macon, GA 31202-0108 • (478) 464-5600
Irving a new sponsor of Ocmulgee Alive!
Oct 1, 2018 by Chris Wood, Ph.D.
The 14th Annual Ocmulgee Alive! is Saturday Oct. 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in designated area streams and portions of the Ocmulgee River.
Approximately one year after announcing its plans to invest $400 million to construct a second U.S. production facility at the Sofkee Industrial Park, Irving Consumer Products is making another commitment to Macon-Bibb County by becoming a corporate sponsor of this year’s Ocmulgee Alive! — set for Saturday Oct. 6.
Irving joins YKK USA and Graphic Packaging International (GPI) as sponsors of Macon’s Annual River Cleanup. The 14th Annual Ocmulgee Alive! will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 6. (The Rain Date is Saturday Oct. 20.) While this is the first time Irving will be participating in the event, YKK and GPI have been sponsors of Ocmulgee Alive! for more than nine years now.
The theme of this year’s cleanup is: “Clean Streets = Clean Streams = Clean Ocmulgee,” which hopes to stress the damaging impact of litter on the environment, says Mark Wyzalek, Director of Laboratory/Environment Compliance for the Macon Water Authority (MWA), who is organizing the event on behalf of the MWA and its Macon Water Alliance.
“Whenever it rains, litter goes into storm drains and then into streams and eventually the Ocmulgee River,” says Wyzalek. “Not only is litter unsightly, but it also can clog the flow of water into storm drains, causing flooding and additional problems with our infrastructure.”
Volunteers are welcome to help in the cleanup efforts on Saturday morning Oct. 6. Those volunteering who do not have a preassigned area to clean should meet at Amerson River Park at 8:15 a.m. that morning for instructions on where to concentrate their efforts.
The MWA and Macon Water Alliance hosts Ocmulgee Alive! in partnership with the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, NewTown Macon, Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, and Macon-Bibb Parks & Beautification. Other participating organizations include: Mount de Sales, Ocmulgee National Monument, Stratford Academy, Macon-Bibb County 4-H, Cub Scout Pack 170, Historic Riverside Cemetery Conservancy, Altamaha Riverkeeper, and the Mercer University Environmental Law Society.
Last year, 310 volunteers took part in Ocmulgee Alive! This level of community outreach made Ocmulgee Alive! one of the Top 10 river cleanups in Georgia. Wyzalek hopes this year will eclipse that mark. Ocmulgee Alive! is affiliated with the Georgia Rivers Alive Campaign, which is a Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Outreach Program. Rivers Alive is intended to raise awareness of and participation in the protection of Georgia’s waterways.
The Ocmulgee River and Javors Lucas Lake serve as the two primary sources for raw water used in drinking water production at the MWA, which is a past winner of the industry award for Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America, as judged by the American Water Works Association (AWWA).
For more information on Ocmulgee Alive! 2018, including the registration and waiver form, as well as tips on what to wear and bring for the cleanup, volunteers can check out the “Learn More” link below.
Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681
E: chris@jwapr.com
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