Sweep the Hooch Brings Spring Cleaning to Chattahoochee River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

MARCH 6, 2014

ATLANTA – Slots are already filling up for Sweep the Hooch, the Chattahoochee River’s annual spring cleaning on April 12. It will be Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s fourth year hosting the event with partners Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the National Park Service. More than 550 volunteers hauled 3.7 tons of refuse from the river in 2013. This year, we expect to eclipse those totals.

The multi-site cleanup will traverse some 60 miles and include 27 sites, many within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.  There will be an array of walking, wading and paddling locations, so there is sure to be something for everyone.  New sites include: Georgia State Parks (Sweetwater Creek, Chattahoochee Bend and Don Carter), as well as Jones Bridge Park in Gwinnett County and Riverview Landing in Mableton.

Registration opened Feb. 14, and will close at noon on April 9. Once capacity is reached for a site, however, registration will close for that particular location. Family, friends and coworkers may register as a team, but individual registration is still required. Spots will fill fast, so we recommend signing up early. You will secure your spot for this special cleanup, and be just in time for Earth Month!

We are especially grateful to our sponsors for ensuring that Sweep the Hooch continues. Our 2014 sponsors are: American Rivers, Cox Media Group, Hewlett-Packard Company, KEEN, PTS Screen Printing and Embroidery, Republic Services, River Network, The Home Depot Foundation and WEG Electric Corporation.

Find additional information, including how to register, at www.chattahoochee.org or www.sweepthehooch.org.

For interviews contact:

• Bill Cox, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: bill_cox@nps.gov
• Sally Bethea, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper: sbethea@chattahoochee.org
• Kevin McGrath, Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited: conservation@ucctu.org