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BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – It’s the 60th anniversary of Smith Mountain Lake, and you can celebrate by helping keep the lake clean. Many members of the community, along with the Smith Mountain Lake Association, the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission, are rolling up their sleeves and participating in the annual “Take Pride in SML clean up day.”
Since 1988, on the first Saturday in May, the lake gets trash and debris collected to ensure the lake is pristine before boating season officially starts. Usually, April showers force more debris into the lake, but we hardly saw any rain last month, so the cleanup may look a little different this year.
“What the focus is going to be predominantly this year is going to be to keep that debris that’s on the dry land, above the water line, out of the lake and get it off those shorelines before it has a chance to flow into the waterway,” said Kristina Sage, the executive director of the Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission.
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Last year, the clean-up day had over 400 volunteers, and collected almost 30 tons of debris, wood, and things that just don’t belong in the lake.
“It can either be some very hard work throughout the day, or it can be some very simple, easy work just to keep twigs and sticks out of the water,” said Sage. “It can be whatever meets somebody’s abilities and their need to clean up in their environment, or what a place is important to them.”
There will be six main collection sites this weekend:
Walnut Run
Westlake Waterfront Inn
Magnum Marina
W.E. Skeleton 4-H Center
Gills Creek Marina
There is still time to sign up online or by visiting the Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission office. The clean-up day starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 2nd.
See the original article here.
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