Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

Three Mile Creek Landing Page

The Three Mile Creek project is in full swing here at Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. We have listened to your requests for a way to easily stay informed of what is going on with the project. So we created a landing page that should provide you with the information you are looking for. If you see anything missing please let us know. We want to make staying informed easy for you.

Visit the new Three Mile Creek landing page.

Three Mile Creek Watershed Community Meeting Schedule 2013

Download as a PDF

We want to know what you like, what you don't like, and what you would like to see for the future of Three Mile Creek watershed.

Mobile Bay Sediment Budget 2012 Released

We've just posted the Mobile Bay Sediment Budget 2012 to our Library of documents. 

Abstract

Mobile Bay is the second largest estuary in the U.S. and the primary depositional basin for the sixth largest river system in the U.S. The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta at the head of Mobile Bay is the largest inland delta complex in the U.S. and encompasses a variety freshwater and estuarine habitat critical to the environmental sustainability of Mobile Bay. Clastic sediment transport within the drainage basin is the primary source of sediment for delta growth at its boundary in northern Mobile Bay. Although a significant quantity of sediment enters the Bay from the delta, less than 30% of sediment eroded from the watershed reaches the Gulf of Mexico. The general configuration of the Bay, relatively low velocity discharge from the river, and quiescent wave and current conditions within much of the Bay result in significant quantities of fine-grained sediment deposited in the Bay.

Historical shoreline and bathymetry surveys, as well as detailed channel dredging and placement records, were the primary sources of data compiled for evaluating sediment transport quantities and patterns within Mobile Bay toward development of an operational sediment budget. Channel dredging records indicate that maintenance dredging in the Mobile Bay ship channel has been very consistent since about 1913,  regardless of channel depth and width changes, at annualized dredging volumes of about 4.15 mcy. The amount of sediment entering the Bay from adjacent watersheds is about 2.87 mcy/yr or 64% of annual maintenance dredging.

Sedimentation in Mobile Bay for the period 1917/18 to 1984/2011 revealed a pattern of net deposition, except for channel areas. Approximately 2.08 mcy of sediment was deposited in the Bay on an annual basis for the period of record. Sediment input from watersheds surrounding the Bay contributed about 2.87 mcy of sediment to the Bay, indicating that approximately 0.79 mcy of sediment were exported annually from the Bay during this period. Of this quantity, about 0.63 mcy/yr were transported to the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Sound by tidal currents. These quantities indicate that net deposition in the Bay accounts for approximately 72% of sediment input from watersheds and 28% is transported from the Bay through Pass aux Herons and Mobile Pass through natural transport processes and offshore disposal of dredged sediment. Channel maintenance dredging quantities between 1917/18 and 1984/2011 exceeded sediment input from Bay watersheds by about 1.6 mcy/yr, suggesting that about 36% of maintenance dredging material placed in the Bay was transported back to the channel.

Net sediment movement within the Bay indicates that in-bay disposal of sediment is most similar to natural long-term depositional processes. Design of dredged material placement techniques that focus on thin-layer disposal farther from the margins of the channels would be beneficial to channel dredging operations and benthic ecology. Dredged material placement farther from the channel may prevent excess maintenance dredging resulting from transport of sediment from channel margin disposal mounds into the channel. Furthermore, thin-layer disposal provides for faster recovery for bay-bottom benthic communities and has a less permanent impact on benthic ecology.

2013-2018 Coastal Conservation Plan Released

Download as a PDF

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) has revised the 2002 Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) and is releasing the draft plan for public input and comment.  Comments will be received through February 28, 2013. 

The 2013 CCMP is a community road map for coastal environmental management and restoration, and a plan to arm citizens with the latest scientific knowledge related to our estuary to heighten their sense of ownership and ability to make a personal difference.

The original CCMP was completed and approved in April 2002.  It included objectives of improving water quality, living resources, human uses, habitat management and education and citizen involvement.   In total, the 2002 CCMP contained 29 specific objectives with 101 implementable steps on the “path to success.”  As of September 30, 2012, of the 101 actions identified in the plan, 11 have been completed, 88 have been implemented on some level, and three are being reconsidered.

The new plan is based on scientific assessments of where the greatest stresses are on the services provided by our coast’s critical habitats and on what the community values most about coastal Alabama. 

The NEP was created in 1995 with a mission to promote the wise stewardship of the water quality and living resources of the nationally significant Mobile Bay estuary.  It is one of 28 federally authorized programs coordinated by the EPA. 

DISL’s Manatee Sighting Network’s first ever Alabama Manatee Naming Contest!

Name an Alabama manatee—Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Manatee Sighting Network

Do you want to name a manatee?  Now through April 1^st, support Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Manatee Sighting Network (MSN) AND have the chance to name one of their newest tagged Alabama manatees.  

DISL’s MSN works to understand where manatees go and what they do in Alabama and nearby waters to ensure that manatees and humans continue to safely co-exist in our waters.  

DISL’s MSN relies entirely on donations and grants to fund this vital research program!

The contest rules are simple –Show your support for MSN through a check/credit card donation or purchase a Tacky Jack’s gift card or MSN t-shirt, and you get the chance to enter the Naming Contest!  Finalists in the naming contest will be posted on the MSN Facebook page (Like us as:  Mobile Manatees Sighting Network) where fans can vote for their favorite name.  

All donations and a portion of purchases are tax deductible, and 100% of all funds directly support MSN research and outreach.  Go to www.manatee.disl.org for more info.

TAKE SURVEY TO PRIORITIZE CCMP ACTIONS!

Take Survey to Prioritize CCMP Actions

Analysis of Discharge and Sediment Loading Rates in Tributaries of Dog River

Marlin Cook and GSA have completed the Analysis of Discharge and Sediment Loading Rates in Tributaries of Dog River in the Mobile Metropolitan Area. Click below for the .pdf document.

Analysis of Discharge and Sediment Loading Rates in Tributaries of Dog River in the Mobile Metropolitan Area.pdf

!Updated! Three Mile Creek Watershed Request for Qualifications

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP), 4172 Commanders Drive, Mobile, AL  36615, seeks a qualified environmental planning, engineering, natural resource planning or other similar firm to prepare a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (WMP) for the Three Mile Creek Watershed in Mobile County, Alabama. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process is being used to select a firm who can develop such a conceptual engineering master plan based on available data.   RFQ’s must be sent to the attention of Roberta Swann and received no later than October 31st, 2012.  All inquiries and/or questions regarding the project should be directed to Christian Miller at 251-438-5690.

The MBNEP has funding to develop a WMP for the Three Mile Creek Watershed to provide a roadmap for restoring this watershed and improving water quality in Three Mile Creek and its associated tributaries.  More information regarding the history, objectives, and scope of this plan are attached to this document.

Bid Results for the Mon Louis Island Shoreline Stabilization Project!

Bid Opening Results

Notice to Contract will be awarded pending notification of sand availability.

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) received bids until close of business/5:00 p.m. on October 10, 2012 at the MBNEP office – 4172 Commanders Drive, Mobile, AL 36615 for the construction of a habitat creation/shoreline stabilization project along the Northern Mon Louis Island Shoreline, Mobile County, AL.  The Notice to Contract will be awarded pending notification of sand availability.

 

For the documents and information used in the bidding process, click here.

The Economic Benefits of Protecting Healthy Watersheds

Click the image for a four page .pdf about The Economic Benefits of Protecting Healthy Watersheds.