Volunteers remove tons of litter from waterways Eric Davis, chairman of the Millstone Township Environmental Commission, and his wife, Bridget, pitch in during the second annual Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Stream Cleanup in Millstone on April 5. MILLSTONE- The litter just didn't disappear on its own. Over the past two weekends, 237 volunteers from Millstone, Hightstown, East Windsor, Cranbury, Franklin, Lawrence, Monroe, Princeton and West Windsor participated in the second annual Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Stream Cleanup. Together, the volunteers hauled out a total of over 10,000 pounds (5 tons) of trash from their local waterways. "Millstone Township's cleanup on April 5 brought out 18 community volunteers who removed over 1,000 pounds of litter," Anneli Terry Nelson, a watershed watch coordinator for the association, said. Nelson said that the cleanup was important because with every rain event, litter gets washed closer to a storm drain, stream or river where it can pollute water. She said that in its second year, the cleanup alliance grew with almost twice as many towns. "Unfortunately, several of the towns from last year returned to the same stream sites this year only to find that the trash was back," she said. Although the watershed-wide event will return next spring, Nelson encouraged area residents not to wait that long to pick up what others continue to carelessly drop. The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association thanked participating municipalities and American Rivers, Eastern Mountain Sports, Saul Ewing, Wegmans, and Whole Foods for helping it sponsor this year's cleanup. The watershed association is dedicated to enhancing the quality of the natural environment in the 265-square-mile region drained by Stony Brook and the Millstone River. The association also addresses key issues affecting water quality and land use, educates area residents about the ecology of the natural environment, and preserves open space by maintaining an 860-acre nature reserve. More information about the watershed and its cleanups is available at www.thewatershed.org.