News

Map of Birmingham Water Works Board protected land around Birmingham metro drinking water source.
August 24, 2023

Settlement secured protecting clean, safe drinking water for metro Birmingham Protections for the city’s watershed will last decades

oday the Birmingham Water Works Board fulfilled a more than 20-year-old promise to legally protect the source of metro Birmingham’s drinking water.

Cahaba Riverkeeper and Cahaba River Society, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, reached an agreement with the Board and Alabama’s Attorney General to protect 7,000 acres of forested land around Lake Purdy, the Little Cahaba River, and the Cahaba River from development that could impact drinking water. Today, the Jefferson County Circuit Court approved that agreement.

Photo from the mid 1990s of Tricia Sheets and her family in canoes on the Cahaba River. Tricia is holding a large clump of algae on a paddle.
July 24, 2023

Cahaba Current: July 2023

Cahaba River Society celebrates growth and change as we honor retiring and departing staff and shape the CRS vision for the future. Read about upcoming staff successions and see our job opening for

CRS is hiring a River Sustainability Director banner
July 18, 2023

We are hiring a River Sustainability Director!

Working on the talented Cahaba River Society staff team is a satisfying, challenging and fun way to make a real difference for this special river and the region’s drinking water. CRS has a job opening for a River Sustainability Director, who will lead the Cahaba River Society’s advocacy programs to protect and restore water quality, natural flows, and freshwater habitat and promote water equity.

May 02, 2023

Invitation to Artists: Cahaba-inspired art sought for juried art show in November 2023

Cahaba River Society and Arts Trussville invite your submissions to our first juried art exhibition, “Cahaba Inspired.”
This themed show will explore our relation to water and nature, embodied by the Cahaba River. The artistic process and the show will encourage artists and audience to immerse themselves in experiences with nature and in nature. We hope the artwork inspires people to value and protect the Cahaba, an essential resource.
If you have never considered this subject matter, now is your opportunity! The Cahaba, famous for the rare and lovely Cahaba Lilies, flows through the heart of Alabama, from its headwaters near Trussville until it reaches the Alabama River southwest of Selma, passing through Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Perry and Dallas counties with beautiful scenery along the way.

Creating work for this show is an opportunity to explore these questions: What is your relation to water and to the River? How are other beings – wildlife, plants, and people – related to the Cahaba and to each other because of the River? What do you want the world to know about the Cahaba and the River’s web of life? How can the vision in your art bring more people into relationship with the River and nature, and encourage them to act for the River’s benefit?

Runners celebrate finishing the 10-Mile trail race at Cahaba River Ramble.
April 27, 2023

Cahaba River Ramble 2023 Race Scores and Photos

It was a banner year with over 60 runners packing the trails at Cahaba River Park in Shelby County! This race helps to support the Shane Hulsey CLEAN Environmental Education Program,

Cahaba River Earth Week 2023 logo with image of blue earth with marker over Cahaba
April 10, 2023

Cahaba River Society hosts five days of Cahaba Cleanups for Earth Week

Cahaba River Society is hosting five days of volunteer opportunities for Earth Week 2023. During the third week of April, from Monday to Friday, we will be leading volunteers along the Cahaba’s channel, banks and tributaries to remove litter and invasive species, to encourage native wildlife and vegetation, to mitigate erosion impacts along recreational trails, and to advocate for a clean river and a healthy lifestyle.

March 14, 2023

Job Opening: CLEAN Environmental Education Assistant

Provides in the field education support for the Shane Hulsey CLEAN Education Program and other youth and adult environmental education programs of the Cahaba River Society. Occasionally supports field programs for Stewardship and Recreation. Support staff for stream walks, teacher training, and CLEAN canoe trips.

January 25, 2023

Cahaba Current: January 2023

Cahaba River Society’s board and staff are thrilled to host our 2023 annual meeting in-person at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia (3775 Crosshaven Drive, Vestavia Hills, AL 35223), on