Black Warrior Riverkeeper -

Year 20 for Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke | 06/27/2024

Nelson Brooke’s 20th Year as our Riverkeeper In 2024 we celebrate Nelson Brooke‘s 20th year as our Riverkeeper! Nelson is the patrolman and spokesman for Alabama’s 17-county Black Warrior River watershed. Learn more about Nelson, and his essential role in our Waterkeeper work, in this June 26, 2024 article by […]

Alabama Coal Ash Program Denied | 05/24/2024

EPA Finalizes Denial of Alabama’s Coal Ash Permitting Program “The Environmental Protection Agency has denied Alabama’s coal ash regulatory program. Luckily the EPA has the brass to stand up for what is right, because clearly our lapdog state agency, ADEM, is not up to the task. ADEM has been so […]

Truck needed for litter cleanups | 05/21/2024

Dear Black Warrior Riverkeeper supporters, Our litter cleanups program is growing! Please let us know if you have a small Toyota truck with automatic transmission that you would like to donate so we can meet increased demand and serve more of the 17-county Black Warrior River watershed. The donation would be tax deductible. […]

Stop Tuscaloosa’s Sewage Spills | 04/26/2024

Take Action: Stop Tuscaloosa’s Chronic Sewage Spills Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of Hurricane Creek have started a petition on Action Network telling Mayor Walt Maddox and the City Council of Tuscaloosa to Stop Tuscaloosa’s chronic sewage spills. The city of Tuscaloosa’s sewage system chronically overflows harmful sewage and […]

Earthbounds Earthfest 2024 | 04/03/2024

Earthbound’s Earthfest Supports Black Warrior Riverkeeper on April 20 For Immediate Release: April 3, 2024 Contact: Charles Scribner, executive director, Black Warrior Riverkeeper: (205) 458-0095, [email protected] BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Saturday, April 20, 2024, 2 PM to 8 PM, Earthbound headlines Earthbound’s Earthfest, the rock band’s annual outdoor concert at Avondale Brewery (21 41st St […]

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. We are a citizen-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting clean water for the sake of public health, recreation, and wildlife habitat throughout our patrol area, the Black Warrior River watershed. This vital river basin is entirely contained within Alabama, America’s leading state for freshwater biodiversity.

Patrolling waterways, educating the public, and holding polluters accountable has made us an important proponent of clean water throughout the basin. Our staff identifies and addresses pollution problems while increasing public awareness. We are a proud member of Waterkeeper Alliance. Please contact us to report pollution and to inquire about volunteer projects, donations, educational presentations, or public events.

The Black Warrior River drains parts of 17 Alabama counties. The area the river drains, its watershed, covers 6,276 square miles in Alabama and measures roughly 300 miles from top to bottom. The Black Warrior River watershed is home to over 1 million residents and contains 16,145.89 miles of mapped streams. Its headwaters consist of the Sipsey, Mulberry, and Locust Forks. Once these rivers merge west of Birmingham, the Black Warrior River proper forms the border of Jefferson and Walker counties. Near Tuscaloosa, the river flows out of the rocky Cumberland Plateau and enters the sandy East Gulf Coastal Plain, forming the border of Greene and Hale counties in the Black Belt. At Demopolis the Black Warrior flows into the Tombigbee River towards Mobile Bay.