It is that time of year again for Northeast Louisiana’s annual Ouachita Water Sweep and Ouachita Green and other participating organizations need your help. The clean-up will take place on September 7th from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at a number of locations.
This year the event will cover a number of NELA’s beautiful bodies of water including: Lazarre Park, Sterlington Boat Dock, ULM @ Bayou Desiard, Lakeshore Dr. @ Bayou Desiard, 165 N. @ Bayou Desiard, River Wall/Levee on Trenton St., Forsythe Boat Dock, Cheniere Area 3, Moon Lake Boat Dock, Columbia Boat Dock, and Darbonne Lake. The main locations for the Twin-Cities area will be Forsythe Boat Ramp and Lazarre Park, but everyone is welcome at all locations.
The Ouachita Water Sweep started 12 years ago and has happened every year since in order to keep our tributaries clean and healthy. Thirty-five locations are staged from Ouachita to Caldwell Parish with almost 300-400 volunteers participating in the clean-up.
The effectiveness of this program can be attributed to the Army Core of Engineers and Tensas Basin District who started these clean-ups for the entire region. Once their initiative took hold, smaller groups like Ouachita Green began to lead the charge every year for a bigger and better clean-up.
Stuart Hodnett, Director of Ouachita Green, has been organizing and aiding the water sweep in NELA for six years now and says, “The [Ouachita] river here is such a focal point in our city. We want to continue to keep it clean.” Participating in the Ouachita Water Sweep this year will definitely show you just how important it is to keep our waters clean and preserve the nature that makes NELA unique.
You can sign up for the clean-up at ouachitagreen.org or contact ouachitagreen@gmail.com for more information regarding the event.