Not a nice day to be kayaking but I braved the elements to continue documenting the pollution in Dog River.
Oil Pollution. H2Oil? Do we really want oil in our recreational waters? City has no requirement to filter parking lot runoff. City has no oil booms in place to contain the spills. No one seems concerned about 5 mile long oil slicks. Must be a gag order out from someone in a high position. The first three images below show the oil pollution in Montlimar Creek (Bolton Branch).
Trash Pollution. Despite a lawsuit from Dog River Clearwater Revival, the City of Mobile's only litter trap hasn't worked right since they installed it in 2012. There is still no one removing the trash pollution that continues to come from Mobile's unfiltered drainage ditches. Twenty one photos taken today showing trash pollution along 2.5 miles of Eslava Creek and Upper Dog River downstream of the Litter Trap have been added to the photo gallery below. Click on any thumbnail to bring up the viewer.
Raw Sewage Pollution. Mobile Baykeeper's Lawsuit hasn't stopped the raw sewage discharges from the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS). An image of a sewer manhole overflow is shown below. Of course, the spill at this location was not reported so residents of Dog River are not alerted to the potential health hazards.
The last three photos below highlight an odd problem in Mobile. I've been quietly monitoring the construction at a MAWSS sewer station at 4300 Dauphin Island Parkway for several months. The contractor did a good job using BMPs to limit erosion. The water flowing in the ditch is clear because the site was quickly stabilized with grass. Here is the irony. There are rules in place to limit construction site dirt from entering waterways. Yet, there are no rules in place to prevent garbage from entering waterways. That is why the ditch in the last two photos are visibly polluted with trash. If it was muddy water, I could complain and get ADEM involved to stop the dirt pollution. As long as it is trash and garbage polluting the water, the City of Mobile, ADEM and the EPA ignores it. WTF?