Volunteers pulled more than six tons of garbage from the river between Iowa City and Hills in the annual Iowa River Clean-up, held Sept. 14.

Low water levels, good weather, and hard-working volunteers all contributed to a successful clean-up of a 9.5-mile stretch of the Iowa River from Iowa City to Hills last Saturday. Volunteers worked to pull 6.38 tons of trash and debris from the river and its banks to protect and improve the river’s water quality and make the waterway safer for people to use for recreational purposes.

In all, more than 540 volunteer hours were logged for the project, a National Rivers Clean-up-sanctioned event organized by the City of Iowa City, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Project AWARE, and The Iowa Flood Center. Other sponsors and participants included Bridgestone Tire, the Clinton County Conservation Board, Durham School Services, Environmental Advocates of Johnson County, Fin & Feather, Hills Fire Department, Hy-Vee of Iowa City, Iowa River Friends, IOWATER, Izaak Walton League – Johnson County Chapter, Johnson County Conservation Board, Johnson and Iowa County Watershed Coalition, Lower Wapsi River Clean-up Project, Peterson Iron and Metal of Coralville, and Touch the Earth from the University of Iowa.

To learn more, head over to IowaCityPatch, or iarvpc.org.