Our Mission
The mission of Clean Water Alabama is to engage and encourage the citizens of Alabama to take the necessary actions to ensure that our water resources (rivers, streams, lakes, bays and coast) are protected from those items that make them unsafe to its citizens, their communities and the plant and animal life that live within and around.
- Educate citizens, elected officials and government and conservancy groups on the current threats to our water resources.
- Organize representatives from citizens groups, businesses and conservancy groups to identify the primary threats to our water resources and what actions each can take to mitigate those threats.
- Propose policies and promote best practices to address this within local communities and at the State level.
- We are a non-partisan organization that seeks to bring all stakeholders together and bridge divides where they exist. We all want clean water.
So much of Alabama the Beautiful centers around our water resources. The rapid growth and development in Alabama, in particular its southern counties, threatens our waterways like no other time in our history and has already begun to make many of our waterways and bodies of water unsafe. We each share in the responsibility of doing something about this. Collectively we can make a difference in making our waterways cleaner and in ensuring their preservation for generations to come.
Current Activities
- Formed as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation in April 2021 with the mission of engaging citizens, government officials and businesses to take the necessary actions to protect and preserve Alabama’s water resources.
- In an effort led by Alabama State House Representative Joe Faust, on May 5, 2021, Governor Kay Ivey signs Joint House Resolution 196 “recognizing the importance of clean water access in the State of Alabama and endorsing the mission of Clean Water Alabama.”
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Clean Water Alabama (CWA) has created a coloring and activity book designed to educate children on the importance of protection our waterways and how we can each contribute to that effort. These books will be provided free to establishments such as restaurants, retail shops, pediatricians offices and the like.
- CWA is involved in promoting a shoreline restoration project to rehabilitate and restore natural habitat along the Magnolia River at three existing dirt pits.
- Approximately 50% of all pollution that occurs on Alabama’s waterways is the result of storm water run-off. CWA is promoting a best practice to mitigate this by recharging water-tables at retention ponds and similar water collection locations.
- CWA is involved in drafting proposed legislation for a statewide septic tank replacement program. This proposal establishes a fund to replace failing septic systems which pose a risk to our waterways and to assist homeowners to convert to public wastewater systems, where available.
- CWA continues to engage our elected representatives at the State level to educate on the current threats to Alabama’s waterways and to enlist support for pollution mitigation efforts.
A letter from State Representative Joe Faust
“Alabama the beautiful” often describes where we call home. Encompassing that description are our many lakes, rivers, bays and miles of oceanfront. As Alabamians, we love our water and spend a great deal of time enjoying the bounty that lives within and around them.
It should come as no surprise to you that our precious water resources are facing growing challenges. Much of this has to do with growth, as our wonderful state attracts more and more people to live and work here. We also need to be better stewards as citizens, businesses, and communities, in terms of what we are allowing to go into our water. Nowhere is this more evident than in Baldwin County, where I am privileged to serve and where so much of our daily life revolves around our beautiful bays, rivers and coastline.
We have formed “Clean Water Alabama” a non -profit (501c3) whose purpose is to bring all of us together to meet this challenge and develop strategies and actions designed to help us become better stewards in protecting our water for generations to come. I can’t adequately convey the enthusiastic response we have received from all cross sections of Alabamians, who, like me, understand the importance of such an effort.
We would welcome your involvement and support.
Sincerely,
Joe Faust