Kentucky Waterways Alliance organizes Confluence Commonwealth Cleanup event, aiming to eliminate trash near Licking-Ohio waterways.

The Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) is inviting volunteers and community members to join them for the Confluence Commonwealth Sweep on September 6th, 2025. This event will take place at General James Taylor Park, located at 100 Riverboat Row, Newport KY, 41071, and will also involve clean-up activities at Randolph Park.

The Confluence Commonwealth Sweep is part of a larger program by KWA, where they host cleanups across Kentucky in each of the seven major river basins. This initiative aims to keep our waterways clean and healthy for all.

Registration for the event can be done through a form available at this link: https://forms.gle/ZC6y5mp4SmvFoWgQ6 or on the Kentucky Waterways Alliance website at kwalliance.org/events.

The Licking River, a major tributary to the Ohio River, spans across 22 Kentucky counties and supports the withdrawal of more than 29 million gallons of municipal water a day. This river, which gets its name from the many salt springs and licks that attracted prehistoric animals such as the Woolly Mammoth and Giant Mastodon, enters the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky in Newport and Covington, providing opportunities for paddlers and anglers.

The event timeline includes check-in at General James Taylor Park from 8:30-9 a.m., welcome and safety instructions at the same location, shuttling of some volunteers to Randolph Park, and the cleanup ending at noon. After the cleanup, volunteers and community members are invited to join KWA at West Sixth Covington Haus for lunch and a happy hour from noon-2 p.m.

KWA is working with partners such as Newport Aquarium, WAVE Foundation, West Sixth Brewery, Bluegrass Trout Unlimited, Banklick Watershed Council, ORASANCO, City of Newport, City of Covington, Covington Stormwater, Keep Covington Beautiful, Center for Great Neighborhoods, Campbell County Waste Management, KYEEC, Republic Bank, Seaguar, Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church, Stantec, National Wildlife Federation, Red River Gorge Shuttle, and others for this event.

In 2024, KWA's Commonwealth Sweep volunteers removed nearly 10,000 pounds of trash from Kentucky waterways. The 2025 Commonwealth Sweep will be working in Northern Kentucky on September 6th.

Join KWA in their mission to keep Kentucky's waterways clean and healthy. Registration is now open for the Confluence Commonwealth Sweep. Let's make a difference together!

Kentucky Waterways Alliance organizes Confluence Commonwealth Cleanup event, aiming to eliminate trash near Licking-Ohio waterways.