Volunteers are getting ready to put on their working boots and get wet. Saturday marks the 11th annual Lake Mitchell cleanup. Alabama Power and Chilton County volunteers are taking part in the Renew Our Rivers campaign by taking a day to pick up trash in and around Lake Mitchell.

The Lake Mitchell Homeowners and Boat Owners Association (HOBO) is coordinating the event with Thompson High School Key Club, which will have students participating. The clean up is set to start at Higgins Ferry Park at 8 a.m. and will last until noon, at which time a picnic lunch will be served to all of the volunteers present.

Last years clean up was a big success with over two tons of trash removed from the lake with 175 volunteers from the county giving a helping hand.

“Alabama Power takes part in the clean ups to help encourage everyone to come out and support cleaning up the environment. Although we are excited about the large amounts of trash we remove during each cleanup it is not something that we are proud to have to do,” Jan Ellis said. “We are all working toward the day when we don’t have to pick up any trash because the message to not throw things away in the river has finally sunk in to the minds of the public.”

Anyone wanting to do their part to help clean up our rivers should be present at Higgins Ferry Park before 8 a.m. to get a map of the area that is to be cleaned and to get set up. The lake can be cleaned by land or boat according to the volunteer’s preference.