One of the nicest features of living in Montclaire is the stream that separates our back yards along Wensley Dr. from the forest concealing the Water Treatment Plant. This stream is now our front door to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Storm Water Department has an ongoing program called Adopt-A-Stream where groups contract to conduct two clean ups each year. In 2007 Montclaire Neighborhood Association signed up for the program and after doing two clean ups we received our sign at the bridge on Farmbrook Drive declaring it our stream. We have just signed up for two more years, taking us to the end of 2020. After all these years of regular cleaning, the stream is a lot cleaner than it was when we started, but we still pull many bags of trash out every year.
At our next cleanup, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services will be providing garbage bags, gloves, grabbers and waders as usual. We just need to provide the people. Stay tuned for the rescheduled date.
Come on out and enjoy a spring walk down our stream. A few more tips to keep our streams clean…If you get the Observer newspaper insert tossed in your driveway every week, please take a moment to pick them up and put them in your recycle bin. Otherwise, they eventually end up in the storm water system and our stream. Also, dog walkers, your poop bags go in your garbage not in the gutter or someone’s front yard.