I have really come to rely on my drone for most close aerial reconnaissance but there are times when that just won't do. Sometimes I have to see the whole watershed in a day to get the full scope of a problem. Such was the case with a recent flyover of the watershed to monitor Alabama Power Co. ROW crossings.
Over the years Alabama Power Co. contractors have been over spraying herbicide to the point it has caused serious erosion problems at a lot of the crossings.
From the creek, this is what it looks like. The bank is completely scoured of vegetation from the water line to about 20 feet up.
2017
I can see this crossing from a RR Bridge crossing the creek. The first one is from 2017. They had just begun spraying all the way to the water line.
This crossing is on my land where I have had harsh words with them about herbicide. You can see that the herbicide line stops well above the water line and small brushy vegetation is holding the bank in place. This is the way all of the crossings should look like, not just the ones where people are watching more closely.
I had a conversation with an APCO representative who oversees the Right of Way (ROW) I explained the problem as I have for several years but when I mentioned getting an airplane to look at all of the ROW crossings he seemed to be surprised.
I explained that from a plane I can survey the entire watershed and every ROW crossing to assess the damage. After our conversation he came up with a plan to address the issue. The contractors are predominately hispanic and speak broken English. Now APCO requires an English speaking APCO rep to be present in this watershed while herbicide is applied.
There will also be signs placed at every crossing in English and Spanish saying "No herbicide application beyond this sign". I was pleased tp see them already in place by the time we flew.
Yes a drone is handy but you can't see this from a drone. Without SouthWings, many of the pollution sources I report on would go unnoticed. I can be readily trespassed from accessing property from the ground but there are NO trespass laws in the sky. Many thanks to SouthWings and Pilot Robert Searfoss for the flight and support for so many years.
On Nov. 7, 2022 I reported a major sewage overflow on JVC road that was leaving
the site and going underground along I-59. My first thought was that it must
have been getting into the drains leading to Cottondale Creek. In fact the
official notice from the city said as much “There has been a sanitary sewer
overflow in the 1 block of JVC Road. The overflow is ongoing. It will reach a
storm drain that leads to an unnamed tributary that leads to Cottondale Creek,
which leads to Hurricane Creek. The affected area will be cleaned and
disinfected. Signage is in place.” Tuscaloosa City sewer overflow notice Tue, Nov 8,
12:49 PM.
Since
the sinkhole around the manhole happened within 100 yds. of Cottondale Creek it was only natural to
assume that was where it was going. The creek was dark black and had an
unpleasant odor to it.
Cottondale Creek did, in fact show signs of being discolored with a dark substance. A direct quote from the city sewer
head, Kimberly
Michael states “The sewer line in question carries wastewater from Mercedes
Benz U.S. International to the city's wastewater treatment plant, and Michael
said the land around Manhole No. 6978 was washed out during heavy rains in
2020.”
Here is a photo of that same manhole in July of 20 and it was not washed out.
"This is a project that we have had in the works since 2020 when there
was a major washout in the area, so we have been working with engineering and
we're in the final stages of engineering on that project," Michael
said. "However, we've had a catastrophic failure out there so we are
actively working with the John Plott Company to try to stabilize everything
right now."
Ms. Michael was not in the sewer dep. in 2020. Where did that information
come from? I have visited this site many times before and since 2020 and have seen no such
“wash out”. Which rain event caused this mystery washout and WHY did the city
not address it at that time? Why did they wait for a catastrophic failure to react? This is the result of neglecting the situation? There are so many
questions that need answered.
If the “washout” happened in 2020, was it there in 2021
Alabama Power Co. (APCO) set up mats and drove heavy equipment through the area
to access the ROW for the new concrete poles set only a few feet away. Take a
look at this Google Earth photo from 2021. It shows the APCO mats in place the
one is directly over the recently “catastrophic failure”. The
APCO permit (ALR10C0DG) for that construction was issued in Feb. 21 and was
terminated March 18, 2022.
Did this really start in 2020? The catastrophic failure of this force main
line happened recently in my opinion. If Ms. Michael has evidence that
contradicts mine, I’d like to see it.
Ms. Michael claims it is all contained in the hole nearby. Watch this video and
ask yourself who’s telling the truth here?
What was in that black wastewater and where did this stuff go? According to Michael "There is an active overflow happening right now, but
we do feel like it is contained in the hole that is in the area.” The hole she
is referring to is a sinkhole leading to a decrepit, rusted sewer pipe leading under the interstate. The open sinkhole measured roughly 25 feet long and
as much as 15 feet wide. All of the dirt that was there before has washed down the drain, so to speak. It has completely eroded the I-59 fence poles from the
ground where they hung suspended above a large hole that has funneled
potentially thousands if not millions of gallons of industrial wastewater and sewage effluent underground. When it entered this pipe, where did it go?
Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper
I have searched the
area on foot and can’t find where it is coming in but I do believe it is
finding it’s way to the creek, if not now, sometime in the future.
David Butler, Cahaba Riverkeeper
Mercedes has a
permit to discharge industrial wastewater into the city's sanitary sewer system. Could the
mixture of those chemicals be killing out the E-coli? What tests did the city
perform? Just E-coli or did they do a full spectrum test to determine what
industrial pollutants might have been entering Cottondale Creek and later Hurricane
Creek itself? The tests to determine that should have been done at once by
Tuscaloosa sewer dep. It is their responsibility to accurately report what and
how much sewage effluent that is lost into the environment. Where are those
results?
Ms. Michael stated
“the city was making plans to reroute sewage away from that manhole and hoped
to "limp along" until that project was finished, but said the failure
came a few months before the work was to be completed.” Limping along with a
major sewer artery, which delivers toxic sewage and industrial wastewater, is why
the city sewer system is in such disrepair. It’s time to stop limping along and
FIX the failures.
According one
official report there was only 500 gallons “contained in a hole”. Review the
video above and see for yourself. I believe it was a lot more and the city knew
where it.
I know now that I
was right all along. There was, in fact a large severely deteriorated pipe under the ground
which all of the effluent went into. I still don’t know where it leads but I do
know that SOMEONE at the city knows and has known for some time now. The city needs to
notify the public about the true nature of how much sewage and wastewater was
spilled over multiple days, and where this pipe took it to.
About a 30 inch, severely degraded pipe at Sinkhole
Severely degraded steel pipe contains sewage and oily sheen
This is a section of the forced main leading away from Mercedes and discharging for days at the JVC site! It had failed long ago according to the size of those rust holes.
18 inch Forced Sewer Main coming from Mercedes.
It’s the city’s
responsibility to check these things out and make the facts available to the
public. After all, they work for us!
UPDATE
We now know from scouring the city reports that the overflow was flowing back into the degraded system going under the interstate. From the size and number of holes in the pipe, it makes sense. It looks like the entire system needs to be replaced.
The only sign was completely hidden from residents
City of Tuscaloosa sewer overflow notice.
"There
has been a sanitary sewer overflow in the 1700 block of Hurricane Road. The
about 200-gallon overflow reached Hurricane Creek. The affected area will be
cleaned and disinfected.Signage
is in place.
Those
in affected areas should exercise caution. In the affected areas, there could
be health risks associated with the water and contaminated areas that adjoin
the water so the City of Tuscaloosa advises people to avoid the water and
contaminated areas. Signage
is in place at all affected locations and public should follow instructions
if in an affected area.
This
does not impact tap water as the water and wastewater systems are two
completely different systems.
In
an effort to increase transparency, the City is notifying residents and media
of all overflows regardless of cause or severity. The City of Tuscaloosa
treats over 6.5 billion gallons of wastewater annually at its wastewater
plant and less than 0.03% of that volume has been lost to sanitary sewer overflows
in its collection system over the last three years.
Stay
up to date on all City of Tuscaloosa news via social media:
First
I’d like to know how the city came up with only 200 gallons? Second, it was NOT
Hurricane Creek but Cottondale Creek, a tributary to Hurricane Creek. It may
not sound like that much of a discrepancy since Cottondale Creek does
eventually reach Hurricane Creek. However, if you live along Cottondale Creek
it makes a huge difference.
The
notice says 200 gallons. How do they know when it started and how long did it
run before it was found by a young man riding a 4 wheeler? He notified
Paddington Park mobile home park authorities where the overflow was ongoing at
around 4:30. They then called the city whose general response time is about 30
minutes based on my experience. The city sent out the email notice at around 7
PM.
The
city notice also claimed the area will be disinfected and cleaned. There was no
such activity going on while I was there.
The
city notice said there was signage in place. NO it was not and still is not as
of 12:noon 11.04.22. The only sign I saw was at the creek bank hidden behind a
piece of machinery. None of the residents I spoke with said they were notified
in any way. They found out when machines showed up and started digging a path
to the creek bed where the sewer line runs.
This galvanized pipe broke off due to rust.
As
it turns out, there was a malfunctioning air relief valve, which was deep
inside a culvert pipe and had to be dug up. It looks like the valve had broken off of the galvanized fitting due to excessive rust. How many more are like this?
At one point a man entered the hole
with a shovel for some reason. This location is only about 1,000 feet upstream
from Lift Station 10, which has been a chronic and ongoing failure for years. I
can’t help wondering if the two aren’t related. It stands to reason that
mechanical things break. I get that but why would you place a relief valve that
deep in the ground where it’s known to flood.
At
any rate, I have taken samples, which will be ready for distribution tomorrow
around 1 PM. I will post the results ASAP.
In
the mean time, out of an abundance of caution, I would advise all residents
living in the Paddington Park area and below on Cottondale Creek to stay clear
of the water. Make sure your pets also can not access the water until we know
for sure.
I
do not trust the city of Tuscaloosa reporting data so I will get my own data.
I
would also like to invite all residents to let us know if you see something
like this going on. I sincerely believe the city needs to be far more
transparent about overflows and far more accurate in the measurements reported. It takes all of us to hold polluters accountable.
UPDATE: I
returned the next day and found that they did, indeed clean and use
granular disinfectant. It's amazing how well they operate when they know
someone is watching.
Water samples taken yesterday show the creek within acceptable limits for Ecoli.
Fall on Hurricane Creek is always something to see but this year has been extraordinary. Colors began changing in mid October and by the 23 it was really popping. Each color represents it's own diverse species in this teasure must people take for granted.
It's a shame the fall is also low water season so paddling is almost out of the question. There are plenty of hiking trails at the park of Hwy 216 which run right along the creek bank and many through the upper woodland area.
This year I thought instead of a paddle trip I would take you for a flight over about a mile of the creek taken in segments. It's just too pretty not to try and share. Watch the video below for a flight at sunrise.
These were taken over the week of Oct. 25 through Nov.02. I hope you will enjoy.
When the fog comes up in the morning you can see the creek by the rising fog in the hills.
It's not hard to see why I love both working and living in this watershed.
Over the years Alabama Power Co. contractors have been over spraying herbicide to the point it has caused serious erosion problems at a lot of the crossings. 
.jpg)
