Cawaco RC&D Council / Five Mile Creek

Contact Information

OSM/VISTA: Rachel Corely
Supervisor: Paul Kennedy
Sponsoring Organization: Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.
Address:1731 1st Avenue North, Suite 200, Birmingham, AL 35203
Phone: 205.322.5326 ext. 414
E-Mail: sunbear6@gmail.com
Website: http://www.cawaco.org/fivemilecreek
U.S. Congressional Districts: 6th, 7th
County: Jefferson

Five Mile Creek is a part of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior watershed. The creek runs through the communities of Center Point, Tarrant, Birmingham, Fultondale, Brookside, and Graysville. The river corridor includes calm pools, unique geological formations, and beautiful secluded recreational opportunities. As coal mining became important throughout the Birmingham area in the early 1900s, the western majority of the creek was utilized for surface and underground mining, with coal mining towns developing around these mines. Steel and coke-processing industries developed upstream from the mining operations. Today, the social landscape of the Five Mile Creek watershed includes both metropolitan and rural areas, with a significant number of the areaâs residents at or below the national poverty level. In the current post-mining era, much of the land within the watershed is utilized as urban land or forested land. The main environmental problems facing the creek include urban stormwater runoff, flooding, acid mine drainage, non-point source pollution, illegal dumping, and sediment/bank erosion.

For years, Five Mile Creek was knows by locals as Creosote Creek due to the bitter smell of the polluted water. In recent years, urban development in the headwaters has resulted in devastating floods in the watershed communities. As the developing interstate from Memphis to Birmingham is built through the heart of the watershed over the next decade, the problem will only get worse.

In 2002, the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership was formed in response to these issues, and includes six municipal governments, Jefferson County, Cawaco RC&D Council, and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. In addition to improved water quality, the Partnership's goals are the restoration and preservation of Five Mile Creek as a community asset through the development of a greenway along the entire 28-mile corridor of Five Mile Creek. The Partnership also strives for the adoption of smart growth planning for the watershedâs impending development.

The accomplishments of the recent OSM/VISTA involved developing a stronger board of directors with the Friends of Hurricane Creek (FOHC), working with the Abandoned Mine Lands Program on the AMD restoration project, providing outreach to local schools and organizations, and raising money through grants and fundraisers. One of the main objectives that was met was getting a part-time employee for FOHC. They have had a part-time Creekkeeper for the past year. Additionally, she helped the organization become more stable and increased their membership numbers. Through strategic planning and recruitment of committed board members, FOHC has grown into a more respected and self-sustaining organization.

Over the past year and a half, the OSM/VISTA helped manage an AMD restoration project on Weldon Creek by monitoring water quality monthly and analyzing lab results. She also identified a point source of AMD that has potential for remediation. Providing educational outreach to the community was another priority. The OSM/VISTA gave several presentations and led stream walks and a water monitoring class for community organizations and for a local high school. She also helped plan and organize two successful annual creek cleanups (the major fundraising event for the Friends of Hurricane Creek).

Some of the goals for the next OSM/VISTA will include providing more outreach for the community, expanding the annual cleanup and creating new fundraising opportunities, maintaining and increasing funds for the Friends of Hurricane Creek, and establishing a community based water quality monitoring program for citizens in the watershed.

• Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.
• Jefferson County
• Black Warrior Cahaba Rivers Land Trust
• Cities of Center Point, Tarrant, Birmingham, Fultondale, Brookside, & Graysville
• Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham
• US Geological Survey
• Alabama Power Foundation and Service Organization
• Samford University
• University of Alabama-Birmingham
• Auburn University Landscape Architecture Program
• Kodak Conservation Fund
• National Endowment for the Arts
• Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Storm Water Management Authority, Inc.
• Sloss Industries
• Black Warrior Clean Water Partnership
• Friends of Five Mile Creek
• Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Huffman High School
• Alabama Water Watch
• Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force
• National Park Service
• EPA Brownfields Region 4
• Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark Metal Arts Program
• Auburn Cooperative Extension Service
• Alabama Abandoned Mine Lands Program
• Office of Surface Mining Birmingham Field Office