MAWSS board likely to take up compromise to closure of Mobile’s Big Creek Lake to recreation next week

The board that voted in February to close Mobile's Big Creek Lake to boating and fishing is meeting on Monday, April 7. They are expected to discuss possible compromises to their complete ban on recreational use of the lake.

The meeting is at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Mobile Area Water & Sewer System (MAWSS) offices at 4725 Moffett Road in West Mobile. The business meeting is open for public viewing but does not appear to be a public hearing.

The board of MAWSS voted February 4 to halt fishing, boating and other recreational use of the lake, which has been popular for decades with local sportsmen and families.

Big Creek Lake supplies drinking water for approximately 350,000 consumers in the greater Mobile area, or 70% of the population.

MAWSS's decision to ban recreation on Big Creek Lake sparked a citizen outcry, mostly in Mobile and nearby southwest Alabama.

Now, efforts to undo the MAWSS ban are happening in the state legislature and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on House Bill 473. This bill prohibits water systems from stopping fishing, boating, and other recreation on public lakes. While statewide in effect, it primarily aims to reopen Big Creek Lake to recreation.

After the hearing, the committee did not vote. Committee Chair State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) indicated that the committee may schedule the vote at its next meeting on Wednesday, April 9. Members of the committee and contact information are listed here.

A Mobile-based group, "Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS," supports the bill.

State Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) is the bill's House sponsor. He spoke in favor of it at the hearing.

"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.

The executive director of MAWSS, Bud McCrory, spoke against the bill. He said it would be "detrimental" to MAWSS's mission of providing clean water to 350,000 people in the Mobile area.

Steven McNair, a spokesman for the City of Mobile, joined McCrory and opposed the bill.

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."

State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) has a companion bill in the state senate with the same wording as the House bill. Williams indicated that his SB 272 could come up for a committee hearing next week. Williams represents much of western Mobile County, including Big Creek Lake, in the Senate.

The citizen group "Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS" has created a Facebook page with over 2,800 members. Electrical contractor Matthew Frazier organized the group.

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. That board is the one meeting on April 7.

The legal strategy would be to file a lawsuit or seek a legal opinion to invalidate the decision.

Stringer's legislative strategy is to pass a state law preventing the closure of public lakes by water systems.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources issued a determination Thursday that Big Creek Lake is open to the public. The determination came after Stringer filed a request with Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship on the question.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources findings do not carry the force and effect of law.

1819 News will continue to cover this developing issue.

READ MORE HERE: MAWSS board likely to take up compromise to closure of Mobile’s Big Creek Lake to recreation next week

Most Alabama counties are still seeing more deaths than births

For the fifth consecutive year, Alabama saw more deaths than births, a problem that an expert says will become increasingly difficult to stop.

In 2024, 52 of 67 Alabama counties saw more deaths than births, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The problem is so multifaceted and dynamic that it is difficult to pin down exact causes for the shift, said Nyesha Black, the director of demographics at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama.

“These demographic numbers, the averages, they are a consolidation of people’s stories,” Black told AL.com. “There can be changes from county to county but even just down a street.”

Only eight states saw a higher rate of natural population decline in 2024. Alabama has one of the older populations in the nation, which also results in more deaths, Black said.

“However, a big demographic tipping point was 2020 due to the huge amount of excess deaths from COVID,” she explained.

The borders of the state feature the most consistent patterns of decline. The more central metropolitan areas are where most of the growth is found.

Choctaw County, in the southwest region, saw its population affected more than any other by natural change — or the number of births minus the number of deaths. The population there has declined each year since 2020, according to the Census. In 2024, it shrank by 1.7%. About 1% was due to natural change.

Cherokee, Lowndes, Tallapoosa and Coosa were the next highest in the rate of natural population decline. The common trend is their rural status and aging population, according to Black.

They are all relatively poor compared to state averages and very poor compared to national averages, according to the Census. Each of the five counties has seen more deaths than births in every year since 2020.

Many rural areas are losing younger families and children as they leave in search of better infrastructure in more metropolitan areas. This leads to fewer children being born and an older population which sees more deaths.

“Most commonly, people are moving for jobs, opportunities,” Black said. “If there’s not a robust labor market in an area, then see where people are likely to move in, and more people are likely to move out. So across time, you kind of have this, you know, erosion in population.”

Black added that this cycle can be self-fulfilling. As people leave, the market becomes less strong, leading more people to leave as a result to find better opportunities.

“The school systems get worse, the housing gets worse, these are the types of things that will appeal to young families.”

This pattern could explain why many of the metropolitan centers of the state are the only ones growing. Individuals of child-rearing age are moving there in search of opportunities. Black said that this is why Alabama is seeing most of its natural growth in suburban areas.

The major population centers of Montgomery, Birmingham, and Huntsville and their neighboring counties are some of the only areas in the state to feature natural growth over the last few years. Shelby, Autauga and Marshall counties are all examples of this suburban growth.

Alabama as a whole saw 1,732 more deaths than births last year. Despite those numbers, the state’s population still increased by about 40,000 from 2023. The data shows that this change can be chalked up to both international and domestic migration.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY: Most Alabama counties are still seeing more deaths than births - al.com