A hearing has been set for April 2 for House Bill 473 to prohibit water systems from stopping fishing, boating and other recreation on public lakes.
The hearing will be at 10:30 a.m. in room 123 of the State House, 11 South Union Street in Montgomery.
Citizens can sign up there to speak in the hearing before the House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee.
A Mobile-based group, "Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS," is promoting attendance.
The bill is statewide in its wording and effect. It was triggered by the closure of Mobile County's Big Creek Lake to recreation, which the water authority, Mobile Area Water and Sewer System, ordered on February 4.
For citizens who cannot attend the hearing, the 11 members of the committee and their contact information can be found here.
State Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) represents a large district in north Mobile County, which contains Big Creek Lake. The lake is known for two things: it is the water supply for 70% of the greater Mobile area and is a popular recreation lake for fishermen and boaters.
Those two things appeared to conflict, and the Mobile Area Water & Sewer System (MAWSS) voted to ban recreational use of the lake.
Stringer filed HB 473, which prohibits water boards and sewer commissions from banning or restricting recreational activities on lakes they own or control.
"Suddenly declaring an entire lake off limits without offering specific reasons or justification is unfair and hurts the quality of life for everyone who lives in the area. The residents of House District 102 are angry and upset at this bureaucratic nonsense, and I share their reaction, so if MAWSS refuses to reverse its decision, the Legislature can certainly step in and reverse it for them," Stringer said.
Big Creek Lake had been temporarily closed in 2021 when an invasive plant species was detected, but MAWS offered no reasons for its most recent closure order beyond vague claims that closure would help preserve the water quality.
Under the provisions of HB 473, a water or sewer board "may not in any way restrict the public's recreational use of a body of water, or portion thereof, owned or controlled by the board, including for fishing and boating."
Public health departments, environmental agencies, and similar departments governed by other portions of the Code of Alabama would retain their authority to declare health emergencies and take necessary actions to safeguard the public from contaminated bodies of water and other threats.
State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) chairs the committee holding the hearing. She is also listed as a co-sponsor of the bill.
The citizen group 'Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS' met on March 18 to fight for the lake's reopening.
The group has posted a Facebook page to organize the efforts. The FB group now has over 2,200 members. They encourage citizens to attend the April 2 hearing in Montgomery and sign up to speak.
The group's stated purpose is "holding MAWSS accountable for breaching the public's trust by announcing 'PERMANENTLY' closing a 'PUBLIC' waterway and fencing off Howells Ferry Road, A ROAD THAT WAS PAID FOR BY YOU AND ME."
Electrical contractor Matthew Frazier organized the group.
Citizens wanting to reopen the lake have created a GoFundMe page.
There appear to be three different strategies to reverse the lake's closure—one political, one legal, and one legislative. The political strategy is to get public officials to push the MAWSS board to reverse its decision. The legal strategy would be to sue to invalidate the decision. Rep. Stringer's legislative strategy is to pass a state law preventing the closure of public lakes by water systems.
HB473 would not affect the powers of the Mobile County Health Department or the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Members of the MAWSS board that ordered the lake closed include State Rep. Barbara Drummond, Chair; Maria Gonzalez, Linda St. John, John Williams, Jay Weber, Raymond Bell, and Tommy Zoghby.
This developing issue will be covered by 1819News.com
Jim' Zig' Zeigler writes about Alabama's people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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