Register for Great Saw Mill River Cleanup 2020

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — It's time to register for the 11th annual Great Saw Mill River Cleanup. Since it began, volunteers have collected 100,000 tons of trash and debris, Groundwork Hudson Valley has calculated. And since it began, the river that runs through Westchester County has gotten cleaner and cleaner.

The Saw Mill River, known to many Hudson Valley residents only because it floods the Saw Mill Parkway during heavy rains, begins in New Castle and empties into the Hudson River in Yonkers. It has long been a repository for sewage, storm water and industrial runoff as well as, frequently, a dumping ground.

Groundwork Hudson Valley, which sponsors the annual event, published a status report in 2019 on the state of the river. In the early 1980s, researchers said, the U.S. Geological Survey reported the Saw Mill contained the highest concentration of metals among all sites in the National Water-Quality Assessment Program.

The 2019 report found that water quality is improving but still requires a lot of work.

Where the public has access to the river, it is a popular place for recreation and leisure activities, researchers said. That includes in Yonkers, where work began a decade ago to open the river back up to daylight as a focus for urban beautification and recreation.

The 11th annual Great Saw Mill River Cleanup will happen from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 18. Locations:

• Farragut Avenue, Hastings
• Bridge Street Plaza, Ardsley
• Van der Donck Park, Yonkers
• Great Hunger Memorial/Woodlands Lake, Irvington
• Lawrence Street, Ardsley/Dobbs Ferry
• Hearst Street, Yonkers
• Chauncey Park, Dobbs Ferry
• Executive Blvd and Odell Avenue, Yonkers

There will also be a cleanup event April 19 at Liberty Coca-Cola in Elmsford.

To sign up as a volunteer for the site of your choice, click the corresponding link above.