About Us

The Black Warrior River Clean Water Partnership is a coordinated effort by public and private stakeholders to develop a watershed management plan for the Black Warrior River Basin. In accord with the national Clean Water Action Plan, local stakeholders (citizens, businesses, industry, and other commercial, public and private interests) are encouraged to participate. A key component of the Partnership is to bring people together from across the basin to discuss ways to utilize a watershed approach to implement watershed restoration strategies aimed at safeguarding water quality. Learn more about watersheds here.

The Black Warrior River Basin covers approximately 6,300 square miles.  To ensure the greatest stakeholder participation, the Basin has been divided into three Action Committee Groups by county lines:  

• Upper Sub-basin Action Committee (Blount, Cullman, and Winston),
• Middle Sub-basin Action Committee (Jefferson and Walker), and
• Lower Sub-basin Action Committee(Green, Fayette, Hale & Tuscaloosa).  

Each Sub-basin Action Committee meets monthly to discuss common water quality issues in their areas.

Limited funding for this project is provided by EPA through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to district Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices.  Funding for specific water related projects may come from other federal or state grants and/or public or private foundations.  

How does the Partnership Work?
The Black Warrior Clean Water Partnership (CWP) is a growing portion of the Alabama Clean Water Partnership Project. It is a coordinated effort of public and private stakeholders to restore and protect the state's river basins in accordance with the goals of the Clean Water Act. The national Clean Water Action Plan, (www.cleanwater.org) announced in February 1998 and coordinated in the state of Alabama by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM)and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), encourages the involvement of local citizens to address the protection and restoration of our nations water resources. Other CWP groups include: Coosa, Tallapoosa, Cahaba, Alabama-Tombigbee, Chattahoochee/ Choctawhatchee/Chipola/Upper Perdido-Escambia, Tennessee, and Coastal basins. Click here to see a map of Alabama CWP's watersheds.

In the three geographic regions, or Sub-Basins, of the Black Warrior River Basin (the Upper-(Blount, Cullman, and Winston Counties), the Middle-(Jefferson and Walker Counties), and the Lower-(Fayette, Hale, Greene and Tuscaloosa Counties) local stakeholders will participate in the formation of Sub-Basin Action Committees, one for each Sub-Basin. Each Action Committee will oversee the development of a locally based watershed management plan. The plan will include watershed restoration strategies that are prioritized by the Action Committee. For each Sub-Basin, a local entity (government, nonprofit organization, public utility, or industry) that is willing to coordinate efforts within the Sub-Basin and that is eligible to receive public and/or private funding, will be sought to take a lead role

Benefits of the Partnership
The Partnership will consist of stakeholders (community-based groups, local governments, local industry,) and others who will consolidate resources to address and meet the needs of diverse interests in the Basin. The goal is to provide cost-effective and efficient watershed improvements. By adopting this watershed approach through partnerships, collaborative programs can be developed that meet multiple needs.

Current Partners

• Local Citizens
• County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • Blount County
  • Cullman County
  • Walker County
  • Jefferson County
  • Fayette County
  • Tuscaloosa County
  • Hale County
  • Greene County
• NRCS Resource, Conservation & Development Councils (RC&D)
  • Alabama RC&D
  • Cawaco RC&D
  • Tennessee Valley RC&D
  • Tombigbee RC&D
• Local Governments
  • Jefferson County
  • Walker County
  • Tuscaloosa County
  • Cullman County
• Citizen Groups
  • Friends of Locust Fork
  • Friends of Mulberry Fork
  • Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama
  • Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee
• Industries
  • Pittsburg & Midway Mining Company
  • Gulf States Paper
  • Alabama Power
  • Homebuilder's Associations
• State Government
  • Alabama Department of Environmental Management
  • Alabama Forestry Commission
  • Alabama Forestry Association
• Non-Profits
  • Alabama Clean Water Partnership
  • Alabama Rivers Alliance

Expected Results
Improved Water Quality providing a healthier, more productive water resource for everyone to use and enjoy.
Broad-based Communication promoting the sharing of information and the creation of a broad awareness of resource availability through networking with others facing the same challenges.
Collaboration in decision-making, bringing together local interests in identifying funding, prioritizing projects, and implementing watershed management plans.
Coordination between community-based groups, municipalities, and industries, preventing the duplication of efforts and allowing the streamlining of limited resources.
Consolidation of Data and Information within a communications and technical assistance network so that a more complete account of the Warrior River's water quality is available.