El Paso County is proud to be one of the many partners for the 5th annual Creek Week, being held Saturday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 7.

On Thursday, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners unanimously approved a proclamation encouraging residents to participate in one of the nearly 40 cleanups and maintenance events scheduled during Creek Week.

Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez, Jr., read the proclamation into the record, “The Fountain Creek watershed, including Fountain Creek, related wetlands, existing trails, and recreational facilities, is a unique watershed that is an important resource and valuable asset for the people of El Paso County and the Pikes Peak Region.”

Creek Week programs and activities are designed to raise awareness of water quality and littering issues within the Fountain Creek Watershed, and to encourage organizations and individuals to collect litter and debris, making the watershed cleaner and safer.

Larry Small, executive director of the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District, said that the first year of Creek Week was in 2014. The event had 625 participants on 32 teams and they collected 6.8 tons of rubbish. In 2017, Creek Week had 2,592 participants on 81 teams and collected 30 tons of rubbish.

“We’re expecting this year to be even bigger than 2017,” Small said. “It’s very important to have our elected bodies behind activities that encourage citizens to participate because we all know that citizen participation is vital to the health and welfare of our communities. We’re fortunate to have very involved citizens.”

“We are very proud of the program and the benefits it brings to our communities, said Alison Plute, from Colorado Springs Utilities and the Creek Week Cleanup Chair. “When our citizens see a need, they rise to the occasion. The growth of Creek Week has made a huge impact on not only removing litter, but also changing behavior. They’re adopting our waterways. They’re getting involved. They’re understanding their roles in managing our watershed health.”

See attached schedule for times, dates and locations of events and local cleanups.

More information is available on the Creek Week website: https://fountaincreekweek.com/