Volunteers needed Feb. 25 for a muddy job on Powell’s Creek

Bottles, tires and maybe a shopping cart or two could be pulled out of a wooded area near Powells Creek on Saturday, Feb. 25, during a cleanup scheduled there.

Prince William Public Works Department, Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition, and Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District are teaming up to clean up a portion of Powell’s Creek near Riverwoods at Woodbridge Apartments Feb. 25,  and they are inviting the public to help. The event starts at 9 a.m.

Neil Nelson, the secretary of the Streams and Trails Coalition, said people who come to help out should wear boots because the stream bank and woods will be muddy. Other than boots, everything else will be provided. “We’ll provide the litter grabbers and the bags. That’s all that will be needed for this operation.”

Nelson said there will be a lot of that will need to be removed. “There’s going to be hundreds of plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes. There will be plastic cups, food containers, lots of soccer balls, basketballs and anything that washes out of yards,” he said.

Public Works spokeswoman, Deb Oliver, said that Prince William County is required by law to keep streams clean of pollution, trash and sediment, and that help from citizens goes a long way. “We do a number of things to make sure that we’re reducing pollution that goes into streams. We have to take very specific action to help protect water quality in our area.”