SouthWings Shoutout

Sometimes you just have to get a plane.

SouthWings Pilot Robert Searfoss

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. 

Flight courtesy of SouthWings 

This one was taken from a SouthWings flight 09/18/22. You can see a marked increase in dead vegetation as well as a lot more sediment in the creek. 

Flight courtesy of SouthWings 

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. 

Flight courtesy of SouthWings 

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. 

Flight courtesy of SouthWings 

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. 

Flight courtesy of SouthWings