The River Run Network has a recurring monthly initiative to help remove trash and continue to care for our creeks and rivers. Join us along the Rillito River, Pantano Creek, Santa Cruz River throughout the year as we clean up along the river and share more of this beauty with others.
As tributaries to the Santa Cruz River, it is important to keep trash and invasive species out of these creeks! The River Run Network has Flow365 Monitors at these sites, and we hope to share more of this beauty with others and make it a cleaner, greener place. Come join us as we clean up along these portions of the river to share some love with our creeks and rivers.
So far with this effort, we have collected 180 bags of trash with the help of 156 volunteers!
Learn about the clean up sites:
Rillito River at Campbell Ave 
The Rillito River runs along the northern boundary of Tucson – from the confluence of Tanque Verde Creek and Pantano Wash to the Santa Cruz River. Tucsonans admire this place, especially The Loop bike path, the Mexican free-tailed bats that fly out from under Campbell bridge, along with a remarkable Sonoran desert sunset. The river has seen lots of flow over the monsoon season; and trash flows with it.
Pantano Creek near Fort Lowell Park
The Pantano Creek is an important riparian area in Tucson, fed by the perennial Ciénega Creek. While historically the Pantano would have flowed seasonally, it now primarily flows after rainfall and during rainy seasons. Keeping trash and pollution out of our creeks is so important for the health of our watershed and all the plants and animals in our riparian areas. The Pantano is a wildlife corridor, home to coyotes, bobcats, badgers, and many birds and reptiles too. Downstream from this cleanup location is the Rillito confluence, where the Tanque Verde Creek and Pantano Creek meet to form the Rillito River, eventually leading to the Santa Cruz River.
Rillito River near Columbus Blvd 
With the Catalina Mountains in sight, we will experience our unique desert ecosystem while working together to make this area a cleaner place. There’s lots of riparian vegetation along this section and great trails to walk within the riverbed. Historically, the Rillito would have flowed seasonally, it now primarily flows with rainfall. With the Rillito’s connection to the Santa Cruz River, keeping trash and pollution out of our creeks is so important for the health of our watershed and all the plants and animals in our riparian areas. We also plan to remove small pockets of Arundo donax during the event to get this invasive species out early before it spreads too far.
Santa Cruz River at Irvington Rd
The Santa Cruz River has a rich cultural and ecological history that grounds us in this watershed and the city of Tucson. There are stretches of the river where effluent flow is being released, and water flows year round, the Irvington Outfalls is another example of this. The Tucson Airport Remediation Project (TARP) releases clean, recycled water into the Santa Cruz River and creates a vibrant flowing stream. This site is an example of Tucson Water's PFAS remediation efforts. Located on the west side of Tucson, it’s a beautiful area to help clean up our river and learn about the positive impact effluent flow has on our creeks and rivers.
