Cahaba Beach Road Project: Too Dangerous For Our Drinking Water? River Advocates Say Yes.

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2018/08/Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:576;s:6:"height";i:324;s:4:"file";s:50:"2018/08/Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:48:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-e1533573771272-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Source: Hank Black
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => Birmingham Watch
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:9:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:450;s:4:"file";s:27:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-336x252.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:252;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-300x300.jpg";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-415x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:415;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-353x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Cahaba-River-Old-Bridge-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

)
1616983211 
1533571266
bw-logo-color-2

By Hank Black

The ongoing fight over extending Cahaba Beach Road from U.S. 280 across the Little Cahaba River will heat up with another public meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Highway engineers will present an update from a meeting a year ago concerning the project’s impact on the river. The Little Cahaba is a vital link in the area’s drinking water supply, connecting the Lake Purdy reservoir to the main Cahaba River.

Environmental groups are rallying forces with the intent of preventing the estimated $10 million to $20 million project of the Alabama Department of Transportation. The department announced it would present a modification of the plan floated a year ago. The Cahaba River Society, Cahaba Riverkeeper, Alabama Rivers Alliance and Southern Environmental Law Center have joined to object to it.

The public involvement meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Liberty Park Middle School, 17035 Liberty Pkwy. ALDOT representatives and project designers will be available, with maps of proposed routes, to answer questions. Interested persons can make verbal and written comments on the project and indicate preference for a route or no route.

Shelby County engineer Randy Cole has promoted the project for many years, saying the road is needed for “connectivity.” It would connect a new bridge with Sicard Hollow Road to provide a cut-through from U.S. 280 to the Liberty Park residential and commercial development and Interstate 459.

ALDOT regional engineer DeJarvis Leonard has said the project would improve access between roads on either side of the Little Cahaba River and reduce travel times.

The Cahaba River Society recommends the “no build” option, according to Executive Director Beth Stewart, “because the road and bridge could degrade our drinking water supply and increase water bills due to increased risks from construction, urban runoff, forest loss, heavy traffic or a direct spill into the Birmingham area’s drinking water.”

She told a crowd of about 125 people at a rally Thursday in Avondale that increased pollution of the river would boost the cost of water to ratepayers because it would require additional treatment to make it drinkable. The Water Works intake pipe is near the site of the proposed bridge across the Little Cahaba.

The project would put at least 8,000 cars a day into an environmentally sensitive area, Cahaba Riverkeeper David Butler told the group.

Much of the watershed belongs to the Birmingham Water Works Board as a way to protect it against pollution. Some private property owners have placed their land under conservation easements that may protect it from the project.

Potential disturbance of the watershed is a prime concern. The advocacy groups said that, although ALDOT is performing a basic environmental impact assessment, a more detailed study should be done if the project is greenlighted.

More information is available from the Cahaba River Society and from ALDOT.

Note: The Southern Environmental Law Center is a sponsor of WBHM programming, but the station’s news and business departments operate independently.

 

BSC’s Daniel Coleman talks about his years-long effort to save the school and what happens next.

After the news that Birmingham-Southern College is closing, we sat down with the school’s president, Daniel Coleman.

IVF could help her start the family she wants. Will Alabama’s personhood law derail it?

Despite a law meant to protect IVF in Alabama, patients and advocates worry the protections won’t hold — and warn of future attacks on reproductive rights.

Struggling Birmingham-Southern College says it will close at end of May

The College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the longtime institution, officials announced in a news release. The announcement came after legislation, aimed at securing a taxpayer-backed loan for the 168-year-old private college, had recently stalled in the Alabama Statehouse.

What happens when a rural hospital shuts its doors? Look to Pickens County

Residents in the west Alabama county warn that the lack of emergency care can have deadly consequences. It's a fate that could befall a growing number of rural communities.

Q&A: A bad deal made Jackson’s water problems worse. It wasn’t the only Mississippi city harmed

Reporter Sarah Fowler talks about her investigation that found at least eight Mississippi cities were harmed by deals over faulty smart water meters.

What issues are driving you to the polls this year?

What issues are top of mind as you head to the polls this year? What do you want the candidates to be talking about?

More BirminghamWatch Coverage