Keep the Midlands Beautiful 2025 lake sweep/river sweep registration due Friday, September 6

Registration is due this Friday, September 6 for Lake Sweep/River Sweep, an annual cleanup of Lake Murray and surrounding waterways. This event is coordinated by Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KMB) with help from over 30 event partners including PalmettoPride, Dominion Energy, Lexington County Solid Waste Management, and Keep Newberry County Beautiful. This event is KMB’s contribution to South Carolina’s annual Beach Sweep/River Sweep.

The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources organize the statewide effort, which is held in conjunction with The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Any organization can host an event and anyone can participate: individuals, families, schools, youth groups, civic and conservation clubs or businesses. In its 35-year history, over 1,300 tons of litter has been collected and/or recycled. Each year, thousands of people participate in the statewide Sweep, South Carolina’s largest one-day litter cleanup of beaches and waterways.

At KMB’s Lake Sweep/River Sweep, volunteers may choose to remove litter from one of Richland or Lexington counties’ 80 waterways between now and September 28 or participate by checking in at one of three locations around Lake Murray on Saturday, September 20. Free litter pickup supplies, prizes, boat rides, and t-shirts will be provided. Registration is required by September 6 at bit.ly/KMBLSRS. In the past two years, an average of 380 volunteers have participated, removing over 8,700 pounds of litter each year. Lake Sweep/River Sweep is ideal for individuals and groups and provides good, clean fun for the entire community!

While residents are encouraged to participate in this annual event, KMB also relies on small volunteer groups to keep a variety of rivers, boat ramps, islands and other waterways in Lexington and Richland counties clean year-round. KMB’s Adopt-a-Waterway program, sponsored in part by Dominion Energy, provides volunteer groups with recognition for removing litter from their adopted waterway at least two times a year for two years. For a list of available locations and details about how to adopt a waterway, visit https://keepthemidlandsbeautiful.org/?page_id=87.

To learn more or to sponsor Lake Sweep/River Sweep, contact Lexy Johnson at (803)-733-1139 or [email protected] or visit https://kmbsc.org.