We’re always amazed by the amount of debris taken out of the Allegheny River each year by a dedicated group of volunteers.

This year is no different.

David Snyder, who has helped lead the cleanup for each of its 17 years, said the 2025 cleanup drew 154 volunteers who donated 1,232 hours. The crews removed 1,500 pounds of recyclable metal, 40 tires and 28 cubic yards of garbage – enough to fill the bed of a standard pick-up truck nine times. Kudos to those volunteers who gave their time and effort to beautify one of our greatest natural assets.

But Snyder’s recent report to the City Council was noteworthy for a different reason, too.

“Volunteers now handle less metal, fewer tires and less garbage per day than in the early years, showing that our efforts are making a real difference. The river is cleaner, safer, and more ecologically sound than ever,” Snyder told council members.

That’s the best news that anyone who cares about the Allegheny River and its watershed could hear. It’s one thing to be taking the same amount and same types of garbage and debris out of the river and off of its banks every year. But it would be a bit depressing if volunteers weren’t seeing any change from year to year. It’s got to be gratifying for dedicated volunteers to see that some Warren County residents are getting the message that the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek can’t be a dumping grounds for tires, appliances and anything else people need to get rid of.

The Allegheny River has been named River of the Year twice in less than a decade. “I can’t say enough good things about the effort of all the volunteers and the organizations that support this,” said Mayor David Wortman. “There’s a lot of different reasons why the Allegheny River has won the River of the Year a couple of times and the Conewango Creek as well. And I think this is at the top of the list in terms of one of the reasons why. You hit it, I think, the nail right on the head in terms of ownership and pride in such a beautiful natural wonder of the Allegheny River. I really think our community embracing that and continuing to support that and the recommendations that you have going forward to make that effort even better, I think are well received and we’ll continue to work hopefully to help that out.”

We couldn’t agree more.