River City Waterway Alliance

08/24/2026

Happy Monday!

Last week was pretty epic. Here's a quick recap with some exciting news and upcoming events!

🗑️ We hosted 5 formal events last week, while also co-hosting another great Bufferlands cleanup with our friends at Elk Grove Anti-Trash Volunteers. In so doing, RCWA volunteers donated a whopping 226 hours of free labor while removing a staggering 31,260 pounds of trash from local waterways, including 31 shopping carts, 29 tires and 8 mattresses. Of that total, 20,820 pounds was removed during the fantastic Community Cleanup Event on Saturday at Steelhead Creek. The equipment and operators supplied by Reclamation District 1000 were absolute game changers for us! 🙏💪

🌱 Volunteers also extracted some nasty invasive vegetation including 1,068 Red Sesbania trees (𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘢), 107 Cocklebur (𝘟𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘶𝘮), and 1,750 sq ft of aquatic primrose (𝘓𝘶𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴).

📆 This week we plan to host 6 more formal events (Tues through Sun), including another great sunset event on Tuesday evening along the Sacramento River. Don't be fooled by the title (🍷🌱 Sunset Wine & De-Vine) , there will be plenty of trash to collect as well.

🥳 On the evening of Sat Aug 29th, please join us for our End-of-Summer Soirée at the iconic The Virgin Sturgeon (located upon a floating barge in the Sacramento River)!

⏰ IMPORTANT NOTICE: With the exception of sunset events, we will continue with our summer schedule, 8:30 am to 11:30 am, in an attempt to reduce our exposure to hot temperatures. If you plan to attend, please click "Going" on the Facebook event so we can give the restaurant a head's up in advance.

👩‍💻 As a reminder, you can track our updated stats, including our invasive species removal progress, see our latest event calendar and make tax-deductible donations on our new website: https://rivercitywaterwayalliance.org

🐟🦆🐢 Thank you everyone who participates in our critically important waterway cleanups, those who continue to advocate behind the scenes, and those who fiscally sponsor our efforts. We continue to tackle some of the most polluted waters in the region, in areas where no one else dares to venture.

☑️Please double check start times and locations immediately prior to the event as they can vary and/or change. Please also carefully review the Event Descriptions for all events you attend (in advance)
☑️Please hydrate before the events, and bring along plenty of fluids for intake during the cleanups. Take it easy, listen to your body, don't overdo it and take breaks as needed.
☑️ For more information about events and to sign-up as “Going” (encouraged but not required), please go to our Events list on this page.
☑️Our events are always accessible on our website or under our Facebook Events tab (under the "Featured" section or by clicking the "More" tab)
☑️ Please sign up for our email list if you are not already on it.
☑️ Punctuality is very important due to locked gates and remote cleanup locations. Please arrive at least 10-15 mins early for events.

08/24/2026

Please sign the Petition linked below to keep the Swainson’s Hawk listed and protected under the California Endangered Species Act. Our friends at Environmental Council of Sacramento - ECOS and Friends of the Swainson's Hawk are working hard to continue current protections and desperately need your help. Thank you!

👉Link to Petition: https://c.org/nVjVkPgb9L

Keep Swainson's Hawks Protected in California

08/24/2026

🗑️🌱 Steelhead Creek Community Cleanup, 8/22/26

On Saturday, RCWA teamed up with some great community partners for a HUGE cleanup at Steelhead Creek that removed over 10 tons of trash and debris from the banks and creekbed in just 3 hours! With 24 RCWA badgers, 6 representatives from Reclamation District 1000 (including GM Scott Brown), 2 representatives from the office of Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes (Eduardo and Olivia) and fiscal sponsorship from Caltrans, the vast accumulation of trash had no chance!

The staggering haul totaled 20,820 lbs and included 26 shopping carts, 10 automotive tires (several with rims), several lawnmowers, a dozen or so corroded bicycle frames and other assorted parts, piles of soggy blankets, textiles, tents, plastic bags, rusted metal, pallets, general trash strewn in every direction, foam pillows and mattresses and so much more. We even had time to remove over 670 invasive Red Sesbania trees and roughly 660 sq. ft of invasive aquatic primrose.

The teams worked seemlessly together to make the largest impact in the short time we had together, placing safety as our top priority.

We would like to thank everyone who made this monumental accomplishment possible! This recovering creek is breathing a lot easier today. 💙🐟

Song: "Make it Happen" by The Record Company

08/22/2026

It had been a minute since we tackled an untouched section of Arcade Creek, but on Friday our fearless Citrus Heights Arcade Creek steward Lilia led us into a gigantic mess in one such stretch. Despite over 1,100 cleanups in less than 4 years, and over 4 million pounds of trash removed from Sacramento waterways, our volunteers proved without a doubt that 🎶We Still Got It!

Shovels were in high demand as we dug down as deep as 3 1/2 feet to remove tents, textiles and other pollution buried deep under sand and large branches. Despite working feverishly for 3 hours, we only covered about 70 feet of creekbed, sadly about the same distance as our massive pile of trash staged along Van Maren Lane. A quantative comparison that is freightening to consider. But We Still Got It.

After the event, our awesome friend Armando with the City of Citrus Heights General Services hosted us for lunch at City Hall to show the City's appreciation for our hard work. It was a really special honor and warmed our hearts to receive this level of recognition and gratitude from a local government branch. It is rare, indeed.

We wish to extend our sincere thanks to our dedicated volunteers, Lilia, Armando, the crews from Citrus Heights who always load and haul away our huge piles of debris, and the Citrus Heights PD who canvassed the area prior to our arrival to ensure it was safe for us to enter.

Teamwork (and amazing partners) Make the Creek Work! 💙💚

08/21/2026

💥 Arcade Creek @ Norwood (Sacramento, CA), then and now.

Thank you volunteers for sending a little love on through - 143 cleanups and 956,430 pounds of trash and debris removed!!! 💙🌎

08/20/2026

Arcade Creek Cleanup @ Norwood 143.0, 8/20/26

On Thursday, 12 volunteers tackled a huge encampment debris field along Arcade Creek. We filled our trailer in 2 hours, sending us to lunch an hour early. A well oiled machine, for sure.

Link to Event Video: https://youtu.be/kXrCNaLA5hQ?is=9VY58qO-_WD4qzFm

Final haul was 2,300 lbs, including 4 nasty mattresses.

Fantastic job everyone. Another environmental disaster bites the dust! 👊💚🌎

𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴
www.rivercitywaterwayalliance.org
River City Waterway Alliance
Instagram & TikTok:
https://www.youtube.com/


American River Flood Control District
Del Paso Hagginwood neighborhood
Councilmember Roger Dickinson

08/20/2026

🎸 Here’s a brief recap of the fantastic FUN-raiser earlier this month that helped us raise $1,260 towards our ongoing creek cleanin’ operations! It’s never too late to chip in a few bucks if you missed out. 🙏

We’d like to extend another heartfelt thank you to The Torch Club, Campfire Crooners, One Lost Tree, our donors and volunteers for your generosity! It was a really wonderful evening. 💙🎸

08/20/2026

Last Sunday’s Steelhead Creek event was extremely productive, starting where we left off from the day before.

Tents, blankets, metal roofing material, and huge nets were some of the items removed from the water, while clothes, plastic cups, Target gift cards, and a bunch of scrap metal were removed from the land and tree line.

Filling up 3/4 of a dumpster and almost 1,500 pounds of scrap metal is cause for celebration, as this debris will no longer impact and contaminate our waterways. Great job, everyone, and thank you, David, for making a special trip to the metal scrap yard!

We will return to this area soon to continue cleaning the layers of trash lining the bottom of this creek.

Volunteers and badgers are working hard to restore the health and wellness of our waterways. 💚🐟💙

𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴
RCWA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Donate: Zeffy/Venmo/Cash App/PayPal/FB/Check/Gift Cards
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Reddit: River City Waterway Alliance
Website: rivercitywaterwayalliance.org

08/19/2026

💦🌅 Creekside Sunset Trash Splash @ Steelhead Creek, 8/18/26

HOLY BATMAN! 🦇🦇

On Tuesday night, we fully anticipated trash, Sesbania, primrose, friendship and a beautiful sunset. But at sunset we didn’t expect a literal batnado to emerge from under the El Camino Bridge with tens of thousands of swarming bats! 🦇🦇🦇

Interesting bat factoids 🦇:

When bats leave the bridges around Sacramento at sunset, they fly up into the sky and across local wetlands, rice fields, and agricultural areas to hunt for insects.

Where Do They Go to Hunt?

The Local Sky & Wetlands: They fly high into the dusk sky, sometimes traveling up to 50 miles away from their daytime roost.

Agricultural Fields: They patrol local farms and fields to feed on crop pests.

What Do They Eat?

Moths: Their favorite food choice.

Beetles and Mosquitoes: They consume massive quantities of these bugs every single night, acting as a natural form of pest control.

It was a beautiful evening, made even better by the jaw dropping bat experience! 💙🦇

Final tallies: 450 lbs of trash, 338 Sesbania, 850 sq ft of primrose and 47 cocklebur removed! 💪