08/08/2012 - Chickasaw Creek aka Rope Creek

Header image is a photo of barge rope and small crabs.

A major 3-4 foot water main crosses Chickasaw Creek and it is leaking.

Chickasaw Creek southwest of Hwy 43 goes through an industrial area. One of the businesses is metal recycling. There is plenty of rusted metal spilling into Chickasaw Creek. No need to take iron supplements if you are drinking local water.

Industrial sized storage. Companies running such facilities fall under intense scrutiny and have to abide by a ton of laws to protect the environment.

Other companies don't care what they put in the water and ADEM is asleep at the wheelhouse. Lots of tires and barge rope in Chickasaw Creek.

The 5 miles of shoreline between Hwy 43 and Mobile River along Chickasaw Creek is littered with rope from barge activity. 

Rope is classified as marine debris and why waterway authorities have allowed this creek to get so full of rope is an indication that there is no waterway authority. Tugboat companies do what they want and no one is holding them accountable for the pollution they are doing to the environment.

The difference between the public's plastic bottle pollution and this industry's rope pollution is this rope isn't going downsteam any time soon.

Many of the trees that once stabilized the shoreline along Chickasaw Creek have been squeezed to death.

So, just how nerdy am I? Counting rope was the objective of this paddle. How many ropes were laying on the shoreline along the 5 mile stretch of Chickasaw Creek? 403 and that is a conservative number. 26,400 feet (5 miles) of shoreline divided by 403 ropes means there was an abandoned rope on average every 65 feet. So my new name for Chickasaw Creek east of Hwy 43 is Rope Creek.

Black Bayou seems to be a place to dump abandoned boats. The shoreline has been stabilized using industrial sized trash.

What is in your water? Your industrial trash. Enjoy your Alabama Seafood.