
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
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
This June, CRS joined environmental and community organizations from across the nation urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the longstanding scope of the Clean Water Act and reject industry attempts to eliminate federal clean water protections that have kept families, communities, and rivers and lakes safe from pollution for decades.
Over 150 participants recorded over 600 observations of various birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, trees, plants, and other life on the 300-acre Fletcher Nature Preserve at Camp Fletcher, an historic outdoor retreat and nature preserve founded in 1926 by Pauline Bray Fletcher, the first African American registered nurse in Alabama, as a haven for inner city Black children and families to explore nature and the outdoors.
Celebrating Education Director Gordon Black, updates on State & Federal Policy, Shades Creek Greenway Restoration Partnership, commemorating the life of Dr. EO Wilson, and more!
Cahaba River Society, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Greater Birmingham Ministries and SWEET Alabama are partnering to focus #GivingTuesday efforts to help people in the Birmingham metro area directly impacted by water inequality.
Clean, healthy, affordable drinking water is a human right essential to life — and there are people in our communities who are denied access to this right because they can’t afford to pay high water bills. There are families who have had their water shut off or face that threat – a serious health and economic problem at any time, but especially in a pandemic.
We recommend the BWWB be proactive in seeking federal funds to meet system needs, to minimize
rate increases on ratepayers, and to factor in potential federal funding already available or in the
approval process as part of your rate evaluations. We urge the Board to research models for water
rates and system financing that ensure equity and encourage water efficiency.
This edition includes: Welcoming Ben Wegleitner, River Sustainability Director ~ A legal action to protect Birmingham Water Works Board lands that preserve our drinking water ~ CLEAN Environmental Education programs available ~ Army Corps commits funding to fish passage study ~ Catherine Coleman Flowers & The Guardian partner on sewage survey ~ Exploring Southeastern Biodiversity with Dr. Scot Duncan, & more!
We are listening to and sharing in the pain, anger, frustration, hope, and calls for urgent action on racial justice and systemic reform that are being expressed in public protests
The Covid-19 crisis is causing the most harm to minority and low income communities, exposing deep inequities in our society. One reason is lack of access to clean, affordable water.
Cahaba River Society was glad last week when Adam Johnston, Coordinator with Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice, reached out for help finding water donations for Uniontown residents. This economically-disenfranchised Black Belt community is struggling with multiple environmental justice issues that degrade health, quality of life, and economic potential, such as a coal ash landfill and failing sewage treatment system.