Hundreds of people gathered at 19 different sites across metro Detroit on Saturday morning as part of the 46th annual Rouge River cleanup day.
Put on by Friends of the Rouge, the river has improved greatly since the group started cleaning it up 30 years ago.
The river has suffered from historic neglect, even catching fire twice. Now, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality named it "the most improved watershed in the country."
The city of Southfield set out to start cleaning up the river, and more than 20 other cities have joined on since.
Spanning 126 miles, the river runs through 48 communities in metro Detroit.
