A couple of weeks ago, I was standing at a put-in point near Grants Mill on the Cahaba River. Being new to Alabama, I was eager to immerse myself (figuratively speaking) in the process of getting to know first-hand the rivers and streams that flow like a complex network of arteries through Alabama, and play such an important ecological, cultural, historical and economic role. The Cahaba seemed like a great place to start.
The Cahaba Basin sits smack in the middle of the state, and, among other things, the Cahaba is known for its spectacular biological diversity and as a source of clean, clear drinking water. But, as I saw for myself that day, the river is also under significant stress.
I had been invited by Beth Stewart and Randy Haddock of the Cahaba River Society to float the river along with CRS Education Director Gordon Black, Irondale Mayor Tommy Joe Alexander, Irondale Councilman Mike Peavy and his wife Cindy, and several other enthusiastic would-be paddlers. Mayor Alexander grew up playing, hiking, and fishing along the river and clearly feels a deep connection to the Cahaba. He was ready and willing to tell us some colorful stories of the river and the people who lived and worked along the river near Grants Mill.
We were standing in a light drizzle, the remnants of a storm system passing through the Birmingham region. The Cahaba River I had read and heard about had been described as clear, calm, and beautiful, but that day the river was muddy, swollen, and fast moving — too much for our little group of paddlers that contained both experts and rookies.
Instead of paddling, we hiked along the riverbank, hearing from Mayor Alexander stories of the mining camps that once dominated the landscape. We saw promising signs of spring, including bluebells with their bright blue blossoms standing in contrast to dark green leaves. We also saw lots of privet shrubs, an invasive species from Asia originally brought to North America to grow hedges, but one that has now spread to natural areas where it out-competes native plants and reduces habitat and the health of ecosystems.
As we walked and observed the river, we learned that changes to the land that drains to the Cahaba were the main reason for the fast, muddy flow of the river. The type, pace, and location of urban and suburban development in the Cahaba Basin has resulted in significant erosion from construction sites and other denuded land whenever it rains. In addition, increasing amounts of rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, and other hardened surfaces has resulted in significant increases in the volume and speed of water that enters the river during rain events. This combination of increased erosion and increased volume and speed of runoff results in heavy sedimentation, eroded stream banks, scoured in-steam habitat, and reduced water quality.
The good news is that we can prevent things from getting worse to the point where the Cahaba can no longer serve as a source of drinking water or as the home of more fish species per mile than any other river in the country. We can reverse downward trends and actually restore more the the river’s health and diversity. We can learn to do things differently from now on into the future.
As we become more aware of, and more accurately value, the way nature works and the trillions of dollars of ecological and economic benefits nature provides to humans and other species for free, as we continue to reduce pollution from direct discharges to the river and other non-point sources, as we learn to keep urban and suburban development away from particularly sensitive areas, and as we learn to mimic nature’s ability to capture, cleanse, and slowly release water from precipitation events so that it recharges groundwater supplies and gently seeps into streams, we will find water quality and water availability improving along with the health of the river, and the Cahaba Basin will remain an attractive, desirable, water-rich place to live.
Auburn’s Water Resources Center is committed to developing an ever greater research-based understanding of the way nature works, and collaborating with others to put that understanding to use in decision-making to ensure that the living systems that support all life continue to survive and thrive, and are utilized in ways that enable nature to continue to provide the ecological and economic benefits that make Alabama and the Southeast Region a desirable place to live. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting to know Alabama’s rivers and streams up close. See you on the river!
-Contributed by Mike Kensler, Outreach Program Administrator for the AU Water Resources Center
Dr. Samuel R. Fowler
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