Hurricane Creek Surveillance Flight

 Hurricane Creek Flyover 

Summer 26

All flight photos courtesy of SouthWings

I have to give a huge shout out to SouthWings for another successful surveillance flight over Hurricane Creek. With their help I can survey the entire watershed in a matter of a couple hours that used to take days.  From the plane, I can see any potential pollution sourced and where the access to them is located.

Today's flight started out from Tuscaloosa airport in a pretty thick haze. Ordinarily that would be a problem but I was not there to get scenery photos.

Hurricane Creek enters Black Warrior River

I always like to start at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and Hurricane Creek. I had seen some dark foam on the river and suspected it may be coming from the creek. I was gratefully surprised to find it was not us this time. Heavy rain upstream had the river running pretty strong. It was clear that the foam was coming from the open flood gates at Holt Lock and Dam.

 

 

Holt Lock under repairs

  

 

 

 

 

The dam has been under construction for some time now. From here I can see down into the lock pit

Holt Lock and Dam, Black Warrior River

Black Warrior reclamation 2026

Next we flew up to Fleetwood to check on Black Warrior Minerals coal mine reclamation. It looked pretty good and has been in reclamation since about 2016.

Black Warrior Minerals reclamation, 12/18/15

A little farther to the north is the Town of Brookwood Alabama. Brookwood is in the middle of a big battle over the coming of a data center not for away. I saw a new patch of bare red dirt behind the ballfields complex that I will have to inspect from the ground. I'm not sure what it is but I will find out and report back.

The town of Brookwood is not that large and for the most part, working class people who knew little or nothing about data centers or the total impacts to a small community like this, but it seems now, that there's one coming.

You can see the road that runs from the center left of the photo and leads to the top of the photo. That is the Brookwood Parkway where a massive data center is planned. That road was built to encourage sustainable light industrial use. Recently the land was purchased by a Korean company specializing in finding and procuring large tracts of land in rural areas for these huge campuses.

New housing is about 200 yds from the "project"

It's hard to believe anyone could consider a hyper-data center as "light" use. The amount of power data centers use is incredible. Alabama Power Co (APCO) just recently increased the size of the transmission lines running to the Mercedes plant due to increase demand for power at Mercedes. That line runs across my land and will not be enlarged without another fight. Someone needs to explain to me what the need is first and then why does it have to be so intrusive and secret. 

 

The mayor claimed not to have any information about a data center but then went on for 8 and 1/2 minutes explaining details about employment, environmental impacts, number of jobs, and other details which seemed like a lot of information for someone who claimed not to know anything about it. 

 

At the Brookwood city council meeting on 07/21 26 the mayor admitted that he signed an NDA (non disclosure agreement).  That may explain how he comes to be so familiar with a project he claims doesn't exist yet... At least available for the public. 

The mayor claimed there would be thousands of jobs which may be true during construction but the truth is...

A typical data center employs a small skeleton crew per shift, usually ranging from 3 to 10 people on-site, depending heavily on automation and total power capacity. Total permanent staff for a facility generally maps to about 0.15 to 0.35 workers per megawatt (MW), meaning larger campuses run lean relative to their massive size. 

Staffing Breakdown Per Shift
* Core Operations & Engineers: 1 to 4 critical facility engineers or systems technicians monitoring power, cooling, and network uptime.
* Security Personnel: 1 to 5 security guards managing physical site access and perimeter monitoring.* Shift Leadership / Support: 1 shift lead or network operations center (NOC) specialist overseeing immediate response tasks.

APCO power sub-station feeding Mercedes

 

  The mayor also claimed in error that the "power is already there". I beg to differ. Recently APCO took part of my land in imminent domain to build this power line leading to Mercedes Benz. Yes, there are power lines in the area, but not enough power to handle a hyper-data center and Mercedes Benz. 

 This is a photo taken taken 07/30/26 showing the new sub-station. station. There is power there but will it be enough to supply both? Not according to APCO claims when the took my land.  

 

 

 

I took this shot for scale. The Mercedes footprint is roughly 690 acres.  The so-far undisclosed Brookwood project, which most of us believe is a data center is between 1,200 and 1,800 acres of disturbance according to who you talk to. Nearly twice the area of the current Mercedes plant.

There will be a lot more on the Brookwood data center story after the planning and zoning meeting which is 8/11 at 6:00. at the Town Hall. I am urging all Brookood citizens concerned with this issue to attend and ask any questions you may have. None of your questions should ever go unanswered. The mayors entire speech in which he says he doesn't know anything can be seen below.

My main objective for this flight was to help people get a better understanding of what "the project" looks like from a wide perspective. I am so blessed to have a flight service like SouthWings to get me up in the air. 

 

 

Leaving the Brookwood I took a path to an old familiar pollution source at the Miller Crossing development in Peterson. This was the site back in 2025. 

 

 

Millers Crossing in 2026 doesn't look like they are even working on it. I see some issues that I will have to ground-truth to be sure if they are in compliance.

 

 

 

Down the road from Millers Crossing, I saw a sand pit I have been watching for some years and they looked to be in good shape from the air.

Heading back over Holt, I had a look at another old pollution source, Eagle Bluff landfill (buzzards roost as it was called by locals. It has been closed for several years now and is in "reclamation". It looked pretty good and I noticed a new flume ditch where an old clay ditch had been problematic for years.

 Like I said, all in all it looked much better that when it was operational.

 

 

 

 This photo was taken 2022. Look at the mud stream leaving the landfill and flowing across cemetery property across the road. All of this was going on even during funerals.

That was the end of the official Hurricane Creek patrol but my pilot was kind enough to allow me a few detours for a few other interesting scenes.
For instance this one of the Friends of Hurricane  Creek property that was decimated by the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa in April 2011 

FOHC Holt Peterson Rd Property Apr. 2011

 

FOHC Holt Peterson Rd Property Apr. 2011

         

The  FOHC Holt Peterson Rd Property Apr. 2011                                                            

This is the same site today

Almost every flight I take leads me back across the spillway at Lake Tuscaloosa. It's almost mandatory to get at least one shot.

Lake Tuscaloosa Spillway and dam

On final approach I happened to get a shot of the new Northport Beaches and Lagoon project. People laughingly refer to it as the new Mount Northport. That's a subject for another post.

As always, I want to give a big thanks to SouthWings for another great flight!

This is the video clip of the mayors entire speech telling us how much he does not know about a project that isn't happening yet.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Come one, come ALL!

 It's time once again for the Annual Hurricane Creek Cleanup sponsored by Friends of Hurricane Creek. It also falls on Earth Day weekend so if you don't have plans, come on out and visit with us.

For over 30 years we have held this event to get the community together to celebrate the history and scenic beauty of one of the most treasured places in all of Tuscaloosa Co. It is the longest running cleanup in Alabama which began in 1993. We only had one rain-out but some of the crew stayed and worked just so we could keep it going.

There will be canoes and shuttles available for those who wish to bring their own canoes. We just had a high-water event that scoured most of the banks about 15 feet up in the trees. There should not be a a lot of litter but man oh man what a beautiful, fun trip down the creek it will be.

For those who want to stay on dry ground, we will have several roadside cleanup sites in mind that always get trashed. It's a shame that this must be done but if we don't, it washes into the creek and later to the river. 

There's always something going on during cleanup days. Come and just hang out on the creek bank if you'd like.

Visit our FaceBook page or email me at hccreekkeeper@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

A big shoutout to Warrior Waste Services for supplying our roll-off dumpster this year! We cannot do this work without volunteers and supporters like them.

"At Warrior Waste Services, we offer dependable and affordable waste removal services for both commercial and industrial customers in West Alabama."

https://www.warriorwaste.net/

Misleading Comments

 Sewer Petition rebuttal

City of Tuscaloosa City Council President,Kip Tyner responded to several news stories that ran on many of the local stations with some pretty questionable statements. I’d like to take some time to explain our filing a lawsuit and releasing a petition to educate the people of Tuscaloosa to the issues we thought were egregious enough to take to court. 

In one 5-year permit period Tuscaloosa was responsible for self reporting over 42 million gallons of raw sewage into the surrounding waterways. Part of it was stormwater or weather related but a lot of it was deferred maintenance, deteriorating infrastructure and the city's lack of willingness to invest in making the necessary repairs. The majority of these SSOs flowed into beloved streams where citizens recreate such as Hurricane Creek, Cypress Creek, Cottondale Creek, and the Black Warrior River. One such example is Hurricane Creek Park, a popular swimming hole and recreation area for the people of Tuscaloosa. 

Hurricane Creek Park

Approximately 2,067,916 gallons of raw sewage had been spilled in Cottondale Creek (just upstream from Hurricane Creek), Hurricane Creek, and Little Hurricane Creek since 2017. 

Our initial notice to the city was introduced in 2023 with an invitation to sit down and discuss the issues in an open conversation. The notice letter came after years of problems with the sewer system that the city seemed unable or unwilling to correct. The petition came shortly after. 

Recent news reports reference a 100 gallon spill last month. 100 Gallons? How about over 700,000 gallons since 2023.

After a recent file review of overflows in the Hurricane Creek basin alone, I found that since July of 2023, when we filed our notice, the Tuscaloosa Sewer Dep. has discharged an additional 700,000+ gallons of raw sewage into our streams. Of that number approximately 377,710 gallons were in the Hurricane Creek basin alone. Almost half! 

 

 

The video above is from LS 40 which is one of the most problematic stations and technically not in Tyners district. But is it surrounded by District 5. Gerrymandering made this possible long ago and the residents inside that box can not vote for or against any city projects or representatives. 

LS 40 was responsible for over 90,000 gallons and ALL were self-reported as "dry" days. Little Hurricane Creek is about 20 feet to the left in the tree line. 

 

Failing LS 40 on "temporary bypass" pumps

There seems to be a pattern to the overflows which start with the Mercedes Auto plant in the upper end of the watershed. Over 200,000 gallons of raw sewage have been discharged just from the lines associated with transport of Mercedes effluent. That's over half of the total for the Hurricane Creek basin and about 1/4 of the total for the entire system. 

The way these systems work is pretty simple really. Sewage effluent flows by gravity feed to its lowest point where there are pumping stations, or lift stations (LS) then pump the sewage to a higher point where it can again flow by gravity feed. The Mercedes has 4 such lift stations which have been problematic spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw sewage into Hurricane Creek, Little Hurricane Creek, Cottondale Creek and many of the unknown various tributaries. From there it goes into the Black Warrior River. 

The biggest contributor and source of overflows in the Hurricane Creek basin is the Mercedes force main. It runs under pressure all the way from the Mercedes plant to a gravity feed line located along JVC Road at Manhole 6968. That’s approximately 14+ miles. Most of the cast iron piping was installed in the 1970s originally and has been pumping industrial wastewater under pressure for some 50 years. In those 50 years the equipment has outlived its intended purpose as have the cast iron pipes transporting the corrosive industrial chemicals and sewage.

Gravity feed pipe under I-59 rotted by industrial chemicals

The pipes I have seen taken from the ground after sometimes catastrophic failures are rotted through with holes you can pass your fist through.

Force main from Mercedes at the source of the blowout

 

"We're doing the best we can" (KT)

Rotted pipe taken from LS 11.

Three of the lift stations in the Mercedes line have serious issues and are on “temporary” diesel pumps, rented and fueled by the ratepayers, as this is being written.

Lift station 39 is located right at the Mercedes plant and has overflowed many times. It is now on temporary pumps for over 2 months on life support and counting.

Lift Station 40 is right behind a small community of people living by a private lake. The closest house is less than 300 feet from the lift station where thousands of gallons of raw sewage has overflowed coming over the years in direct contact with their land. They have never received a notice from the city warning them. It was on temporary pumps for 38 days in 23 at least. 29 days on pumps in 24, and 16 days so far this year. Many thousands gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste flowed along a citizen's land and the city has never notified them. The "temporary" pump was not set up properly and no one checked on it. "We're doing the best we can do" (KT)  

There are several sinkholes around the pump well and new ones are opening up all the time due to the seriousness of the overflows. 

 

 Lift station 41 has been on temporary pumps for over 8 months and counting! After that long it is no longer temporary. The original equipment has failed… Replace it!  

Mr. Tyner has played down our lawsuit making such comments as we only filed to get members and or make money. That is simply not true. Just these 3 lift stations and the lines leading through them are responsible for 190,000+ gallons discharged against the permit requirements just since July 23. 

ALL 3 are in Mr. Tyners district, so I can see why he wants to downplay the issues. He is responsible for making sure everything in his district runs smoothly. However, the lift stations and the piping leading through them are failing. Instead of acknowledging and fixing the problem, he is apparently focused on trying to discredit the messenger.

Another questionable claim I heard from the City of Tuscaloosa was that 94% of sanitary sewer overflows were caused due to weather events such as flooding and heavy rain, according Tyner. The record suggests that is not the case.

The collection is a closed system meaning it does not mix with storm water. No storm water should be getting into the pipes. By admitting that 94% of the overflows were caused by weather related water intrusion, they are admitting that there are way too many open pipes and rotted pipes in the system to keep it separate from rain. However, the “self-reported” figures in the ADEM files are different. In the last 3 years since the suit was filed there has been 182,500+ gallons of raw sewage belched into the Hurricane Creek basin on dry days due to equipment failure, broken pipes and at least one contractor who broke a force main coming out of LS 11. During the same reporting period since 2023, there were only 3,200 gallons discharged during wet weather!

This is doing all we can? Tyner says it is.

There is a force main sewer line located directly under those trees. It was only cleared to access a blowout.

One of the main sources of water entering the system is root intrusion from trees on or too close to the lines. Take a look at some of the sewer right of ways (ROW) I encounter on my Hurricane Creek patrols.Tyner claims 94% of overflows are caused by storm events which we know to be wrong based on the ADEM file. 

Does that cover manholes knocked open and left for years? This is behind the rest area on I-59. I have an interactive map of the city sewer lines but according to it, this line does not exist. Judging from the amount of rot on that pine tree, I’d say no-one has been here in a few years. 

Look inside at the pile of leaves and woody debris laying the manhole. It leads to the LS #40 where over 90,000 gallons of raw sewage have been discharged from that lift station since 2023.  

Along Cottondale Creek there is a gravity feed line which leads to LS 11. You can see that it is washing out and will soon be in the creek. It has eroded out of the banks and is exposed to the floodwater in even small rain events now. Part of the line is Cast Iron but most of it is PVC sewer pipe which becomes brittle in the sun and not designed to survive impacts of flood debris. It has "slip joints" with rubber seals in one end. Over time these seals deteriorate. 

Some of the joints are exposed and sagging which can allow lots of water intrusion during floods also. Back in 2008 there was a huge overflow which took them several days to address. Mayor Maddox promised back then that would never happen again. The ROWs would be cleared. 

After hearing some of City Council President, Kip Tyners comments I felt the need to rebut his misinformation with the truth.  We sued because the city refuses to admit that a large part pf the problem is deferred maintenance and a failure to invest in the system.

Mr Tyner claims, “When you have a city this massive, every city has issues”. Possibly but the facts do not reflect that. Tuscaloosa is the 5th largest city in Alabama and hardly “massive”. Statistics show that Tuscaloosa has 2 times more sewer overflows than any average city at 11 overflows per 100 miles of sewer line. 

“You are going to have some people who can’t acknowledge that we’re going all we can” (KT) I completely disagree in that Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Friends of Hurricane Creek have been hearing the same excuse for over 20 years and reporting completely different from the ground. If they have been doing “all” they can do, why were 32 year old trees standing on the ROW blocking emergency equipment from reaching the overflow? Why are 3 out of the 4 lift stations in the Mercedes line to JVC Road on “temporary bypass pumps for months? LS 41 has been on temporary pumps for at least 9 solid months! That’s not temporary, that’s jury rigging, slap and dash stuff. “We are doing the best we can” (KT) LS 40 is and has been an extremely problematic station with over 95,000 gallons self-reported since July 23. It has been on temporary pumps for several weeks, on and off over the years but this was taken,  

02/27/25 was one of the most irresponsible setups ever. It seems that there was a problem and a pump was brought in again. Judging from the puddle of raw sewage in front of the idled pump, I’d have to think there was a problem and a second pump was brought in. Whoever set it up either didn’t use a gasket or simply did not tighten the flange because there was a large stream of sewage flowing from the pump saturating the ground all the way to the fence line. No overflow report has been issued for this overflow which city personnel created. “We’re doing the best we can” (KT).

Again, Mr. Tyner claims that 94% of the overflows are caused by weather events. Again, the facts show that some of the largest overflows in the Mercedes force main have been dry weather events. You don't have to believe me. It's all in the record. Go to the ADEM File website When it opens click the "water" box and enter this permit # EXACTLY as it is written here AL0022713  then follow the directions in this video. 

Tuscaloosa runs a closed sewer collection system meaning it does not commingle stormwater with sewage as some large cities do. This system is supposed to exclude all stormwater and transport only sewage effluent. In the case of the Mercedes line there are some very dangerous industrial wastewater also in the mix. If, as the city claims the overflows are mainly storm events, that is an admission that 94% of the overflows are caused by holes, open pipes, sinkholes, rust, and a general failure of the system to function as designed. It seems that the city is using one failure to cover up for another.

Finally, Mr. Tyner stated "I am very proud of how we clean it up and we self-report"! They don't self-report out of the benevolence of Tuscaloosa's civic spirit. It is MANDATED by law in the ADEM permit. Here’s the legal requirement for notifications. “From the City’s NPDES permit, section I.C.(2)(d) (p. 21): d. Immediate notificationThe Permittee shall provide notification to the Director, the public, the county health department, and any otheraffected entity such as public water systems, as soon as possible upon becoming aware of any notifiable sanitarysewer overflow. Notification to the Director shall be completed utilizing the Department's web-based electronicenvironmental SSO reporting system in accordance with Provision I.C.2.e.  Section III.H defines notifiable SSO (p. 33): 30. Notifiable sanitary sewer overflow - means an overflow, spill, release or diversion of wastewater from a sanitarysewer system that:a) Reaches a surface water of the State; orb) May imminently and substantially endanger human health based on potential for public exposure including butnot limited to close proximity to public or private water supply wells or in areas where human contact would belikely to occur.

So you see, most of what Tyner shows his lack of knowledge of what is required or a sad attempt to mislead the public. It should be stated that there are 3 Sanitary Sewer pumping stations between Mercedes and the Manhole on JVC Road which as I write this are ALL 3 on temporary bypass pumps and even thoughALL 3 of these struggling stations are in City Councilman Kip Tyner’s district, he wants the public to believe everything is just fine.

Please sign the petition