PULASKI COUNTY, Va – Severe weather has taken a major toll on one of the largest manmade lakes in our area.
Friends of Claytor Lake (FOCL) helps preserve and keep Claytor Lake clean year-round. The group said the impact of heavy rain and storms is the worst it has seen in years.
“With the storms that we had all winter all through the spring the cleanup has been tremendous,”said FOCL President Steve Rapp.
Rapp said the lake is one of Pulaski County’s hidden gem, “It’s one of Pulaski County’s best kept secrets, Smith Mountain Lake gets a lot of notoriety, but Claytor Lake doesn’t.”
FOCL cleans all 21 miles of the lake from April to November. Rapp said this year has had the largest demand for cleanup that he has ever seen.
“In some coves you can even walk across the lake without even getting wet it’s so much debris,” Rapp said.
Stuart Wallace’s family has owned a home on the lake for decades, he said he appreciates all the work FOCL puts in to keep the area clean.
“This is a pretty bad spot, one of the worst spots on the lake so it’s great to see them cleaning it up making it look nice again,” Wallace said.
Rapp said it’s not just large trees being taken out of the lake. FOCL’s staff has been working 10 hours a day each week since the storms started.
“It’s everything from trees to tires to tires with rims without rims, we’ve even had refrigerators as well, grills, docks, floating docks,” Rapp said.
Friends of Claytor Lake is holding its annual community cleaning day event on Saturday, June 27. Instead of meeting up in a large group, FOCL is encouraging lake residents to clean their own properties.