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 main water supply for 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.
On Thursday, 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," Stringer said. "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."
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 announcement 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.
The legislation has been referred to the House Boards, Agencies, and Commissions Committee, which is chaired by State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile).
For decades, people in South Alabama have fished, boated, and visited Mobile County's Big Creek Lake and graves on the lake property. They are no longer allowed to do so. Stringer's bill would appear to reopen the lake for recreational use.
The citizen group 'Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS' met on March 18 to fight to reopen the lake. They met at Hill Spring Baptist Church in west Mobile.
The group has posted a Facebook page to organize the efforts. The group now has over 2,200 members.
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. The legislative strategy taken by Rep. Stringer is to pass a state law preventing the closure of public lakes by water systems.
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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