County environmental outreach: 'Clean Streets, Stronger Communities' campaign and World Water Day on March 22

Ana Arriaza, manager of community outreach for the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, described a county campaign that asks residents to keep neighborhoods clean, secure trash containers to prevent animal scattering, and volunteer for cleanups the county supports.

"Una cosa muy clave es el agua," Arriaza said on the program while linking litter prevention to water and public health. She encouraged simple, low‑cost steps — picking up litter on walks, using sturdy trash containers and calling 3‑1‑1 to request extra pickups or cleanup supplies — and noted that the county can provide gloves and grabbers for volunteers.

Arriaza also previewed World Water Day on March 22 and suggested household conservation actions such as planting native species, using rain barrels and switching to reusable water bottles. She pointed listeners to MontgomeryCountyMD.gov and the Department of Environmental Protection pages for calendar events, volunteer registration and resources, and to the WSSC website for water‑quality and service‑information checks.

The program presented the outreach as aimed at saving resources, protecting wildlife and improving neighborhood health and property values; it also highlighted bilingual county staff to assist Spanish‑speaking residents who want to volunteer or request services.