Volunteers were working hard at Bennett’s Creek Park on Thursday to help improve local waterways.

More than 20 volunteers from the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance and Colonial Pipeline Co. worked to plant four new rain gardens and reinforce existing ones with fresh mulch and 80 new, native plants. The improvements will help reduce the amount of rain that hits impervious areas and runs off into Bennett’s Creek, which flows downstream into the Nansemond River.

The improvements not only improve the water quality in the waterways but also make the park a more enjoyable environment for visitors, of both human and wildlife varieties.

The Nansemond River Preservation Alliance has been working faithfully for several years not only to educate people about how to take better care of the Nansemond and its tributaries but also to provide opportunities for folks to get hands-on in large-scale volunteer projects.

Colonial Pipeline is wrapping up a project to replace a section of its pipeline that runs under the Nansemond River about two miles, as the crow flies, from Bennett’s Creek Park. The pipe, constructed in the 1960s, carries products such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene and home heating oil.

It’s always good to see businesses take an interest in the wellbeing of the community they serve that goes beyond monetary gain. Colonial Pipeline doesn’t gain anything by keeping the water in the Nansemond less polluted, but it has stepped up and helped to do so anyway.

We thank both the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance and Colonial Pipeline for their important work on behalf of the river last week.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help keep the river beautiful, there’s another opportunity coming up. Keep Suffolk Beautiful will have a Nansemond River cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 28. It meets at Constant’s Wharf Park, 110 E. Constance Road. Call 514-7604 or email littercontrol@suffolkva.us to register.