Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition 16th Annual Upper Occoquan River Cleanup

Volunteers Needed to Clean the Occoquan River – The water supply for most of Eastern Prince William & Fairfax Counties.  On Saturday, September 27, 2025, from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. (rain date October 4, 2025), we will conduct our 16th annual clean-up of the upper Occoquan River, from nine different sites along 25+ miles of the Occoquan River. The cleanup ranges from Cedar Run/Broad Run, through Lake Jackson, and from the base of Lake Jackson Dam to Hooes Run (south of Lake Ridge Marina).

Please register for the cleanup here 

In addition, volunteers are needed to cleanup sites on land, within the watershed. PW Soil & Water Conservation District will identify stormwater facilities for the land cleanup, such as the pond near the commuter lot at Old Bridge Rd and Minnieville Rd, and the pond at Clipper Dr & Mayflower Dr. The land cleanup will be coordinated from Lake Ridge Park & Marina.  Please register here for the cleanup on land.

During the 2024 cleanup, over 80 volunteers on both water and land collected nearly 4,000 pounds of trash, putting in over 320 hours of volunteer time.

Homeowners’ associations, civic associations, and businesses are encouraged to help in this effort.

Experienced kayakers, canoeists, Jon boaters, and pontoon boaters are needed for the on-the-water portion of this conservation effort.  Boaters are expected to put-in and take-out at the same access point. If you put in one location and take out at another, you must make transportation arrangements (no shuttle service is available). 

A map showing the access points for the river cleanup is posted here

Clean-up points of contact:  Bill McCarty ([email protected]) and Veronica Tangiri ([email protected])