Magnolia Springs council discusses River Committee

By Jessica Vaughn / jessica@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 7/11/18

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS – At the Tuesday, June 10 work session, Magnolia Springs councilmembers discussed the possibility of establishing a River Committee.

“I was approached by members of the …

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Magnolia Springs council discusses River Committee

Posted

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS – At the Tuesday, June 10 work session, Magnolia Springs councilmembers discussed the possibility of establishing a River Committee.

“I was approached by members of the community about the idea of forming a River Committee,” said councilman Ben Dykema. “We have a Tree Scape Committee, and the river is just as important to this town as trees are. This is something I think we need to think seriously about.”

Dykema stated he’s already had two members of the community who have showed interest in becoming part of the committee, and he believes there would be an even greater interest were the committee to be formed.

It was stated by community members that there are always going-on’s at the river, from rainwater to silt entering into the water. If formed, the River Committee would potentially be in charge of finding the best solution to remove debris from the water, keeping an eye on the river and determining source areas, and communicating with Mobile Baykeeper, which has just begun testing the river for bacteria. The town is also in discussions to make a commitment to support the Weeks Bay Watershed Coordinator. If the committee were formed, the members could also communicate directly with the coordinator.

“I think we definitely are going to get more and more involved in what’s going on with the river,” said Mayor Bob Holk. “I had someone call this morning about Week’s Creek, some really red water was coming out of there. He couldn’t get his boat far enough to identify exactly where it was coming from. If we had a group of people dedicated to keeping their eyes open on the river, then that’s part of our agreement with Mobile Baykeeper: if we can identify these sources, then they’ll help us do something about them.”

The town’s authority over the river is limited as it is outside of their jurisdiction, but a committee would be able to watch over the water, help with debris, help in the water testing, communicate with concerned parties, place buoys, and also possibly place flags showing if the water tested at a safe or unsafe bacteria level.

“I think it’d be great to have a committee for this,” said Town Attorney Brad Hicks. “We don’t have any police authority on the river, but we can still take an interest in it. Before the committee does anything too crazy I should hear what they’re planning on doing, but getting trash from the water, testing waters, stuff like that, there’s no issues there.”

To check the Town of Magnolia Springs meeting agendas, you can visit their website at www.TownOfMagnoliaSprings.org.