MAHANOY PLANE - Mahanoy Creek is cleaner in the Borough of Gilberton thanks to a cleanup Saturday by volunteers along the stream.
The Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association conducted the cleanup with about a dozen members and volunteers, targeting portions of the creek shores in Mahanoy Plane near the municipal building/sewer plant, and at the bridge in Maizeville behind the former Our Lady of Siluva Roman Catholic Church.
The group met at the municipal building about 9:30 a.m. before dispersing. There were two dump trucks available at no cost - a borough truck driven by Councilman William Hannon and one from MCWA Vice President David Kramer from his business.
"It's been awhile since we had a cleanup," Kramer said. "We're coming to the Borough of Gilberton today because the borough helped us when we were doing our Mahanoy Creek Rivers Conservation Plan.' We needed a resolution from the borough at short notice and fortunately, they were able to put a resolution together for us. We told them at that time we would come over and we didn't forget. We're glad to be here and to see a number of residents who are going to help out."
North Schuylkill Junior/Senior High School seniors Paige Vangieson and Tevin Davis also participated.
Kramer said the association works with 11 school districts by purchasing water testing kits for students to use at the Bolich treatment site near Lavelle or along the creek.
"What we're going to do is start here at borough hall, clean the playground and go down over the bank in this area," Kramer said before the work began. "We can't actually get access to the Mahanoy Plane section because the yards go right to the stream."
The stream was accessible to a degree behind the municipal building to clean closer to the water. Due to heavy rain Friday, volunteers were asked to stay out of the creek due to the fast movement of the water. Kramer said getting the areas near the stream, such as a playground, were important because whatever trash is cleaned up will not end up in the stream.
"Once we clean here, we'll move to Maizeville behind the Catholic church and go east and west," Kramer said. "The people from the town are telling us we can probably fill a few dump truck loads. We're going to do the best we can."
The volunteers fanned out in Mahanoy Plane and cleaned up trash and debris, taking the materials in garbage bags to the trucks. Most then got into their vehicles and headed to Maizeville about two miles away and began cleaning there. With the ability to walk east and west of a bridge, the volunteers found considerable refuse, including a mattress, plastic swimming pool, a large screen for a door or window and wood. A hot tub covered in moss and a pickup cap were also discovered, though they were not taken due to their size. They may be collected later. All debris will be taken to the local transfer station to go to a landfill.
The Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association is working to improve the quality of Mahanoy Creek, which flows 56 miles from its origin to where it empties to the Susquehanna River. The association is involved with a large tract of land that was converted to wetlands as a passive treatment system to treat acid mine discharge into Mahanoy Creek, and utilizes another tract of land near Lavelle to help students learn about water testing. The group has also been involved in stream cleanups in Ashland, Girardville and Helfenstein.