MONROE, Mich. — Monroe, Michigan is a little bit cleaner on Saturday thanks to a large group of citizens who came to clean up the city’s main waterway.
The River Raisin continues to be an important part of Monroe County and every year since the 1960s an event is put on to make sure it stays clean for the residents of the county and the wildlife that it helps sustain.
Around 200 people showed up for the annual event on Saturday to focus their efforts on about a mile and a half of the river that runs through downtown Monroe from Hellenberg Park to Veterans Park.
The river hasn’t always been treated with such reverence, but the city along with volunteer residents are working to change that.
"For a long time, the river was neglected, it was used mainly for industry,” said Barry LaRoy, Utility Director for the City of Monroe. “It's basically stewardship and community involvement.
LaRoy says it is important to keep the river clean for all the recreational opportunities it affords, like fishing, kayaking, and water trails, but also because the water flows into Lake Erie not far from where the city draws its drinking water.
“There’s a lot of debris that gets along the banks that makes its way into the river. Anything that’s surficially disposed of can make its way into the watercourse and its of paramount importance to keep that clean because this goes out into the lake,” said LaRoy.
The event was put on by the by the city’s commission of Environment and Water Quality and is part of the River Raisin Legacy Project.
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