Black Warrior Riverkeeper -

Alabama Toxicity Petition | 04/17/2025

Groups Demand Alabama Update Toxic Pollutant Values to Protect Human Health For Immediate Release: April 17, 2025 Contact: David Ludder: (850) 386-5671, [email protected] Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper: (205) 458-0095, [email protected] Conservation groups throughout Alabama have filed a Petition for Rulemaking with Alabama’s Environmental Management Commission, the board that oversees […]

Earthbound’s Earthfest 2025 | 04/04/2025

Earthbound’s Earthfest Supports Black Warrior Riverkeeper on April 19 For Immediate Release: April 5, 2025 Contact: Charles Scribner, Executive Director, Black Warrior Riverkeeper: (205) 458-0095, [email protected] BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Saturday, April 19, 2025, 2 PM to 8 PM, Earthbound headlines Earthbound’s Earthfest, the band’s annual outdoor concert at Avondale Brewing Company (21 41st St […]

Stop Tuscaloosa’s Sewage Spills | 02/24/2025

Take Action: Stop Tuscaloosa’s Chronic Sewage Spills Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of Hurricane Creek have 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 industrial […]

Thank you 2024 Volunteers | 01/11/2025

Thank You 2024 Volunteers Dear Black Warrior Riverkeeper supporters, I am pleased to report that 805 volunteers donated 3,431 service hours through Black Warrior Riverkeeper in 2024! According to The Independent Sector, the most recent estimated national dollar value of volunteer time is $33.49 per hour. Multiplied by $33.49, our volunteers’ 3,431 […]

Sipsey Wilderness 50th Anniversary | 01/03/2025

50 Years of the Sipsey Wilderness Dear Black Warrior Riverkeeper supporters, Our partners at the Alabama Environmental Council (AEC) and Wild Alabama just sent us their exciting press release announcing the 50th Anniversary of the Sipsey Wilderness. On January 5, 1975, the Sipsey Wilderness was designated a federally protected wilderness […]

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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.