Black Warrior Riverkeeper

MLK Day of Service 2022 | 01/20/2022

Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s MLK Day of Service 2022 By Katie Holmes, AmeriCorps Member, Black Warrior Riverkeeper Martin Luther King Jr. Day is even more than a federal holiday meant to commemorate the civil rights leader’s extraordinary legacy. It is also one of our National Days of Service, which challenge Americans to […]

Thank You 2021 Volunteers | 12/09/2021

Thank You 2021 Volunteers From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, volunteers! 2021 has been a record-breaking year for our trash cleanups: 62 Cleanups 603 Cleanup Volunteers 28,970.11 Pounds of Litter Removed To sign up for our new monthly volunteer newsletter, please visit: blackwarriorriver.org/volunteer-newsletters/ To make a donation in […]

TONS of Good News as We Turn 20 | 11/22/2021

Dear Black Warrior Riverkeeper supporters, Black Warrior Riverkeeper launched exactly 20 years and 2 months ago. Our website now features a continually updated timeline of our milestones since September 25, 2001: blackwarriorriver.org/timeline/. I cannot thank you enough for helping keep us afloat for two decades and propelling us to a whole […]

Big Win for Watercress Darters | 11/18/2021

New Conservation Easement Protects Endangered Watercress Darter in Birmingham FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2021 Contact: Sally Sperling, 205-417-2777, [email protected] Freshwater Land Trust (FLT) has closed on a 26.1-acre conservation easement in the Powderly neighborhood in Birmingham, AL. The property is home to the watercress darter, a federally endangered and […]

Mays Mine Supplemental NOI | 11/16/2021

Agencies Warned Alabama Coal Mine May Violate State and Federal Laws For Immediate Release: November 16, 2021 Contact: Nelson Brooke or Eva Dillard, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, (205) 458-0095, [email protected] or [email protected] Kristine Akland, Center for Biological Diversity, (406) 544-9863, [email protected] BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two conservation groups today notified state and […]

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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.