ALABAMA (WDNews) – Alabama Power has announced its 2026 schedule for Renew Our Rivers, with 27 cleanups planned from March through November across Alabama waterways.
The first cleanup is set for March 7 at Valley Creek, covering areas in Adger, Birmingham, Bessemer and Providence. Additional March cleanups include Lake Eufaula along the Chattahoochee River, Mulga Loop Road at Village Creek and Lake Demopolis.
Renew Our Rivers began in 2000 as a grassroots effort by Alabama Power employees at Plant Gadsden who were concerned about litter along the Coosa River. Since then, the initiative has grown into one of the largest river cleanup programs in the country.
According to Alabama Power, more than 104,000 volunteers have participated in the effort over the past 25 years, removing more than 13.5 million pounds of trash from rivers, lakes and streams across the state.
Spring cleanups continue in April and May at Smith Lake in Cullman, Winston and Walker counties; Logan Martin Lake; Lay Lake; Weiss Lake; Lake Mitchell; Lake Jordan; and Holt Reservoir.
After a summer break, volunteers will return in August for another Valley Creek cleanup, followed by multiple September events at Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake and Village Creek.
October cleanups are scheduled at Lake Mitchell, Plant Miller on the Locust Fork, Dog River in Mobile County, the Mobile River at Plant Barry and R.L. Harris on the Tallapoosa River, also known as Lake Wedowee.
The final events of the year are set for early November at Lake Martin and along the Alabama River.
Anyone interested in participating can visit alabamapower.com/ROR to view the full schedule and find contact information for each cleanup location.
