Friends of the Occoquan press release: On a windy Saturday morning, 292 FOTO volunteers worked to intercept debris from the shores and water of the Occoquan River/Reservoir before it entered the Chesapeake Bay and ocean.

The Occoquan River is the source of drinking water for one million people in Northern Virginia. Equipped with gloves and trash grabbers, the volunteers collectively pulled out 2.8 tons of trash. Items collected were 272 bags of trash and five large 50 gals. drums, three gasoline cans, 15 pieces of wood with nails, 4 Styrofoam pieces, a lawn chair, two coolers, two gasoline cans, two hubcaps, and one large metal piece.

The River Heroes included the Boy Scout Troops 501B&G, BS Troop 1396, BS Pack 1365, Girl Scout Troop 54063, Woodbridge High School Crew, Lake Ridge Middle School, Alan Starks with American Water and Nikki Bellezza with Fairfax Water employees, the Bull Run Rotary Club and Osbourn Park High School of Manassas, Trail Keepers Coalition, Sandy Run Scullers, Fame Church.

The sites cleaned up in Fairfax County were Bull Run Park/Marina, including the Occoquan Forest area, Fountainhead Park/Marina, the Occoquan Regional Park, Lake Ridge Marina, the Town of Occoquan,
Northshore, and Harbour Brethren in Prince William County.

FOTO expresses gratitude to all the dedicated volunteers who braved the cold and windy weather, including the Park Managers and staff from both Fairfax and Prince William County. We also extend our thanks to our sponsors, site captains, helpers, and our own FOTO Team.