Protect America’s Amazon

Mobile Delta at Five Rivers | Photo: Charles Seifried

Biologist E.O. Wilson once described the Mobile Bay Basin as “America’s Amazon.” The delta floodplain, forest and swamp, and the areas immediately around it have more species of plants and animals than any other place in North America. However, the State of Alabama’s failure to protect river flows is putting this area at risk.

While the vast majority of this nationally important watershed lies within Alabama’s borders, the state has failed to develop plans and policies that protect the flow of water in her rivers and streams. This is resulting in conflict between the states, the federal government and everyday water users.

Now Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and the state legislature have the opportunity to fix this situation by passing legislation that provides for sustainable water management throughout the Mobile Bay Basin. This legislation must be comprehensive and protect natural flows and include real provisions for measuring water use, including steps that the state will take in order to ensure that streams, as well as water users, are protected during future droughts and water shortages. With a truly effective water management plan, Alabama would protect the waters within its borders and be in a much better position to advocate with neighboring states for the protection of this watershed as a whole.

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Tell the Alabama Legislature to pass strong protections for the flow of water necessary to sustain and protect the amazing biodiversity of the Mobile Bay Basin and the people who rely on this system.

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Governor

Kay

Ivey

State of Alabama

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I want to thank you for taking interest in the historic work done by the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group (AWAWG) and many stakeholders over the past few years to develop recommendations for a comprehensive water management plan for Alabama. I am writing to ask for your leadership to work with the state legislature, state agencies and stakeholders to take this project to the finish line. Please work with the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy to bring stakeholders together to review the AWAWG report, make recommendations and develop legislation for a comprehensive water management plan for the 2018 legislative session. This legislation should develop a sustainable water management plan that protects the flow of water throughout the Mobile Bay Basin.

Creating one of the nation’s largest river delta systems, the Mobile Bay Basin spans over 44,000 square miles and includes the Tombigbee River, Black Warrior River, Alabama River, Mobile River, Coosa River, Tallapoosa River and Cahaba River and drains portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Four of Alabama’s largest cities— Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Mobile— as well as large portions of the Atlanta Metro Area, rely on the watershed for drinking water and wastewater assimilation. The basin’s rivers are important for seafood, navigation, power generation, irrigation and recreation, including fishing, boating and whitewater kayaking. The Port of Mobile alone accounts for an estimated $22 billion in total economic impact, while outdoor recreation brings in $7.5 billion in direct consumer spending to Alabama.

Described by E.O. Wilson as “America’s Amazon,” the Mobile Bay Basin and Delta are home to hundreds of species of fish, crayfish, mussels, snails and other aquatic lifeforms, many of which are found nowhere else on earth. The watershed is home to well over 140 threatened or endangered species, many of which have been heavily impacted by dams, diversions and development.

The rivers feeding Mobile Bay and its delta are under direct threat from mismanagement of the water resources within the basin. Throughout the basin and in multiple states, river flows are increasingly being altered in an effort to accommodate excessive use and consumption. The State of Alabama does not manage the use of water at all. Without policies that protect a scientifically sound flow regime, the benefits that the river system provides are being degraded. Promoting even more water consumption by relaxing standing prohibitions on off channel or “non-riparian” uses of water, while providing incentives for farmers to increase irrigation, will only exacerbate the problem.

American Rivers has listed the Mobile Bay Basin as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2017, due to this lack of sustainable management of Alabama’s rivers.

As droughts and consumption have increased in recent years, the State of Alabama has been too slow to act. In 2016, more than ten percent of the watershed’s streams set record low flows due to unchecked water consumption and a failure to address water shortages at the state level. Furthermore, the failure of Alabama to protect flows makes negotiations with our neighbors and federal partners exceedingly difficult.

Today I join American Rivers and the Alabama Rivers Alliance to ask for your leadership to ensure that Alabama passes legislation creating a comprehensive water plan that will provide for sustainable water management and is protective of the natural flow of water throughout the Mobile Bay Basin. With a strong water plan in place, Alabama will be in a much better position to work with our neighbors and federal partners for the protection of this watershed as a whole.

Sincerely,

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