Adopt-A-Stream

trash among leaves and sticks

Tired of seeing trash strewn in and along our waterways? 

Want to do something about it? 

Take ownership of your local waterways and Adopt A Stream!


The Program:

The Adopt-A-Stream Program is a citizen-based litter prevention initiative intended to protect the health and beauty of our local waterways. It is a program of the non-profit organization, the Water Quality Forum, and is implemented by local jurisdictions.

Program Goals:

  • Increase citizen awareness of water quality issues
  • Involve citizens in efforts to reduce the amount of trash in and along waterways
  • Give citizens additional opportunities to improve streams through tree planting, invasive species removal, and educational outreach events.

Benefits of Joining:

  • Litter-free waterways
  • Awareness of your watershed
  • Orientation on how to monitor the health of your stream, remove invasive species, and plant native trees/plants
  • Recognition of your group on an Adopt-A-Stream sign
  • Community pride in our streams

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Interested in Joining the Program?

Gather your friends, family, coworkers, or associates and decide as a group that you want to see a section of a stream kept clean.  

Select from your group one or more Adopt-A-Stream captains. Your captain will attend an orientation, learn Adopt-A-Stream protocols, and then assist your group with implementing them.

Adopt It! Pick a section of a stream that you would like to keep clean. Utilize the maps provided by clicking here to determine what stream segments are available to adopt.

Send the contract with the following information to Tyler Ellison, Farragut Stormwater Coordinator to officially adopt a stream segment. 

  • Group Name (example: Willow Height’s Homeowner’s Association)
  • Location of the stream section that you wish to adopt (we will provide suggestions if you are unsure)
  • Name of Group Captain (each group should select a captain that will be responsible for attending the orientation and organizing clean-up events)
  • The Team Captain’s telephone number and e-mail address

Conduct annually:

  • Two stream clean-ups per year
  • Optional: Invasive species removal, tree planting, stream monitoring, and educational outreach events

We will provide supplies including gloves, safety vests, trash bags, and grabbers. We will even come pick up all of your bagged trash.