Mobile City Council Endorses Three Mile Creek Watershed Management Plan
The Mobile City Council officially recognized and endorsed the Three Mile Creek (TMC) Watershed Management Plan during today’s council meeting. The resolution is sponsored by the MLK Avenue Redevelopment Corporation’s Leadership Academy to promote community resilience and engagement. According to Executive Director Michael Pierce, “The MLK Avenue Redevelopment Corporation is delighted the Mobile City Council is adopting the Three Mile Creek Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan. Three Mile Creek is a wonderful natural resource that must be properly maintained. In doing so, the creek could aid in the reduction of flooding, climate change impacts and improve water quality. Additionally, increased access to Three Mile Creek will undoubtedly lead to greater recreational and perhaps entrepreneurial opportunities for our citizens”.
The majority of TMC’s 30 square mile watershed lies within the Mobile city limits and includes portions of five City Council Districts, all three Mobile County Commission Districts, and portions of three City Council Districts of the City of Prichard.
The watershed management plan, completed in the September of 2013, has guided the implementation of several priority projects to improve water quality, as well as jump start the initial segment of a 12 mile walking/biking/canoeing trail. The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program secured funding and oversaw development of the plan. Funding partners include: Mobile County, State of Alabama, Mobile Area Water and Sewer System, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Until the mid-twentieth century, this creek was Mobile’s source of drinking water and is physically, spiritually, and historically ingrained into the fabric of the Mobile community. Suffering from the negative effects of stormwater runoff and decaying infrastructure, TMC and its surrounding watershed present an extraordinary opportunity to the cities of Mobile and Prichard to transform a community liability into a community amenity and water-way destination.
