(AUSTIN) — Keep Texas Beautiful has once again been chosen to oversee the Texas Waterway Cleanup Program that includes Kleberg County.

KTB has partnered with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality since the early 2000s to promote and administer this statewide program, which offers local communities a conduit to keep their waterways litterfree.

In 2008, KTB supported 437 waterway cleanup events, which garnered more than 1.1 million pounds of trash and resulted in more than 1,300 miles of waterways being cleaned. The contract is renewable annually for up to three years.

“People may overlook their area waterways when they think about issues of litter prevention and community beautification, but keeping our rivers and streams litter-free is just as important as keeping our roads clean,” said Hester Bloom, who manages the program for KTB.

“We have fantastic volunteers and are thrilled that the TCEQ has continued to support our efforts to keep Texas beautiful by awarding us this grant,” Bloom said.

The TWCP encourages individuals to organize teams and focus cleanup efforts on a river, lake, pond, creek or stream within their community.

Once a group registers its cleanup event with KTB, it receives free supplies, tools and promotional and educational materials to make the effort a success.

KTB also uses the program to support a related TCEQ initiative, the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, for purposes of education and outreach on improving water quality in Texas waterways.

For more information about the Texas Waterway Cleanup Program, visit www.ktb.org.

Keep Texas Beautiful is a statewide grassroots non-profit that strives to educate and engage Texans to take responsibility for improving their community environment.

KTB has an affiliate network of more than 360 communities across the state and reaches upwards of 17 million Texans with its message of waste reduction, litter prevention and community beautification.

Working in tandem with community leaders, civic organizations, government entities and local businesses, KTB strives to make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation.