A decade ago, the Town of Hempstead Board entered into an agreement with a new volunteer organization that would clean the bays, canals, marshes and beaches in the town. Operation SPLASH (Stop Polluting, Littering and Save Harbors) is celebrating their 10th anniversary this month and the town is pleased to be part of the great job they are doing to clean up our waterways.

The mission of the non-profit organization, which is run entirely by volunteers, is to provide a solution to the growing problem of waterfront pollution through public awareness and actually removing debris from the waterways and shorelines.

A major component of Operation SPLASH is education. They offer educational programs to various civic organizations, Scouting groups and schools. Teaching youngsters about keeping the waters clean is an important aspect of this organization because SPLASH believes that the children will go home and share what they have learned with their families. By teaching children about the impact of littering, the organization is educating entire families about the dangers of polluting our waters. To this end, the volunteers have spent over 5,000 hours increasing public awareness.

The second component of Operation SPLASH is its cleanup efforts. With their boat docked at the Town of Hempstead Marina in Freeport, SPLASH goes out at least once daily, picking up all varieties of trash from the waterways. With more than 15,000 volunteer hours logged, the group estimates that they have removed over 100 tons of garbage from local waters.

Operation SPLASH has now instituted a new project, called "Bring Back the Bay." This project is dedicated to preventing pollution and deterring destruction of the coastal marine environment and finding ways to restore local waterways.

Clean water is extremely important to our environment. If our waters are polluted, then we will lose our valuable marine life. A die-off of marine plants and animals and fish is a common occurrence in polluted waters and is something that no one in our town wants to see happen. We are very grateful to all the Operation SPLASH volunteers who have dedicated themselves to making our waterways clean.

The Town of Hempstead is proud to be a part of such a great organization. Our waterways are so important and by keeping them clean and educating others about why that needs to be done, Operation SPLASH is providing an invaluable service to our town.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Operation SPLASH and donating your time for this worthwhile cause, please call 378-4770.