03/05/2012 - Three Mile Creek and One Mile Creek

I kayaked Three Mile Creek and One Mile Creek to see if any of the environmental groups or any of the government agencies have done anything after complaints to all of them about the pollution in One Mile Creek and adjacent wetlands. No change noticed. No one has cleaned up the pollution yet. Instead of listening to the crackling sound of reeds warming in the sun, today all I heard was the popping sound of plastic bottles warming in the sun. Here are some photos showing the sad scenery up in this area.

Header image is a photo of a trashberg destined for Mobile Bay and eventually the Gulf Coast beaches. All you beach residents can say, "Thank You Mayor Sam Jones for your top priority on strict litter enforcement," and "Thank You Mobile Group Engineering for your expensive expertise and careful management of Mobile's storm water system pollution problems." Mobile Groups' web site is as broken as the storm water system.

A couple of Coot were eating near a trashberg.

A turtle somehow got a plastic bottle wedged beneath it as it was climbing out of the water to get some sun.

A broken Cathode Ray Tube (hazardous material) from an old TV. This just proves some of the "floatables" are hazardous to public health.

Despite all the money, all the poisonous chemicals dumped into the water, and all the manpower, here are pink Apple Snail eggs on a RR bridge piling just west of the I-165 crossing.

A floating trashberg east of I-165.

Someone finally removed most of the tires from the SW corner vacant lot at Conception Street. Thank you Tom! (But, one tire is still visible in this photo - they missed one.) Sadly, someone else decided to illegally dump their trash next to the water. There seems to be no deterrent to curtail the throwing of trash out the car window or the dumping a pickup load of trash on a vacant lot.

Another floating trashberg, this one with a dead animal attached to it.

Speaking of dead animals, this beaver won't be padding around anymore. I would not recommend kayaking Mobile's urban waterways because in addition to the gross scenery of dead animals, it may be hazardous to your health.

A live Apple Snail hitching a ride on a trashberg is visible on the bottom of the photo near the middle. There were several snails on this trashberg. The snails have their own floating island, complete with live vegetation to feed on. Where it goes, only the tide knows.

A black-crowned night heron next to a gas container.

All trash, like this shoe, will be assimilated into the environment.

For unknown reasons, I see a lot of dead turtles in One Mile Creek. Could it be something that has been assimilated in the water that killed this turtle? Hmmm.

A new football recently added to a pile of old trash. That means this is an ACTIVE trash dump. Hello, ADEM? Anybody home? The City of Mobile storm water system continues to actively pollute our environment.

This isn't a scene from a third world county, it is a view of waterfront property owned by the City of Mobile. The City of Mobile won't keep its own property free of litter, so it is easy to see why the obscure Mobile Urban Development Urban Forestry Safety Unit is failing miserably to enforce litter laws. Don't believe me? Drive around the streets in Mobile and you can't help but see the abundant litter.

With Mobile's urban creeks being used as trash dumps there is no telling whether the stuff floating on the surface is organic or chemical.

A blind alligator. I wonder what made it blind - could it be chemicals from the hazardous trash that got released onto the water's surface?

A Gator and a Croc enjoy time together. Hahahah! Too funny! Really, I do not stage these photos.

I will occasionally rotate cans to see what is in them. Here is left over wasp spray and brake fluid which will eventually be assimilated into the water - YOUR water. The City of Mobile doesn't feel it necessary to remove hazardous litter from its waterways. There is a serious flaw in the Public Works trash collection system because leaving hazardous trash in public waterways is WRONG. All water is interconnected. Someone should be fired and all the Mobile elected officials need to be replaced!

It is a sad thing NOT to be able to get any decent photos of swamp life in Mobile's urban creeks because of all the storm water runoff generated trash cluttering the surrounding area.

An alligator with an injured tail or maybe it is a cancer caused from all the chemicals in the water.