More than 80 volunteers with the North Texas Municipal Water District, including staff and their families, spent the morning of Saturday, May 31, picking up trash along the shore near Brockdale Park at Lavon Lake — or Lake Lavon as it is often referred. By the end of the event, nearly a ton of litter had been removed.

In total, the team logged 166 volunteer hours collecting debris ranging from aluminum cans to an old mattress. The effort, part of NTMWD’s ongoing commitment to watershed protection, was coordinated with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lavon staff and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center.

Lauren Plunk, NTMWD watershed manager, chose the Brockdale Park location because of its proximity to Lavon Lake and a noticeable amount of litter and illegal dumping in the area.

“Trash left in our watershed can travel long distances thanks to wind and rain, eventually making its way through storm drains and creeks into Lavon Lake,” Plunk said. “Aquatic trash can affect water quality, endanger wildlife and pollute recreational spaces.”

Plunk added that she hopes the effort not only improves local water quality but also inspires residents to take an active role in protecting their environment.

A watershed is an area of land that drains rainfall and runoff into a common outlet, such as the outflow of a reservoir or river junction. According to NTMWD, healthy watersheds reduce erosion and act as natural filters, capturing sediment and contaminants before they reach water supplies.

NTMWD states that the Lavon Lake watershed covers approximately 768 square miles, or about 492,095 acres, and includes portions of Collin, Grayson, Fannin and Hunt counties. It contains five major tributaries: Wilson Creek, the East Fork of the Trinity River, Sister Grove Creek, Pilot Grove Creek and Indian Creek.

In 2020, the Natural Resources Conservation Service selected Lavon Lake “as one of two priority watersheds in Texas to receive roughly $2.28 million in federal funding for projects aimed at reducing erosion and runoff of nutrients commonly found in fertilizers,” according to ntmwd.com.

Departments within NTMWD also added a competitive twist to the cleanup. Staff competed to see who could collect the most trash — and this year, the Wastewater team claimed victory and took home the coveted “Trash Trophy.”

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