The Connoquenessing Creek Cleanup is being postponed Saturday.
Organizers posted on the group’s Facebook page that with Wednesday’s strong storms, the creek is not safe to be in for cleanup.
“Right now it’s kind of dangerous conditions. The creek is flooded, the water looks like chocolate milk, so it makes it almost impossible to see anything,” Mike Handley of the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance said.
The group will be proceeding with the backup date of September 11th.
To date, the Connoquenessing Creek Cleanup project has collected more than 600,000 pounds of garbage, and more than 7,000 tires over the past decade.
“Some of it’s very alarming how much we’ve pulled out of there,” Handley said. “But the fact that we’ve got that much out of there is incredible, and it wouldn’t be done without the help of the community.”
Handley says he’s expecting a big turnout for Saturday, but says the Wednesday’s storm may impact how much of the creek they’re able to clean.
Either way, he believes this project has helped reconnect the community with the local waterway.
“Compared to the earlier years of doing the cleanup and where we are now with so many people involved and aware of what’s going on–it seems like the community is almost policing their own backyards, which is really nice to see,” Handley said.
He said the group also took great pride in how much the Connoquenessing was used during the height of the pandemic when people were venturing outside to look for entertainment.
“I think we saw the number of kayakers and canoes quadruple during the quarantine,” Handley said. “It’s just awesome to see people reconnect with the creek for entertainment purposes.”