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Alabama's Water Uses
The most common uses of Alabama's water
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USING ALABAMA'S WATER
Monday, July 07, 2008
DRINKING WATER, SANITATION:
About 80 water systems in Alabama pull water from reservoirs or rivers and about 370 systems pull from
underground aquifers. About 30 percent of Alabama residents still have their own water wells. About 695
public and private wastewater plants are permitted to discharge treated wastewater into Alabama's rivers.
INDUSTRY:
The state has issued permits to 3,264 industries who are permitted to discharge treated water into
Alabama's waterways. Industries along the rivers and streams pull water out for making their products or
cooling equipment.
NAVIGATION:
Alabama is first in the nation in navigable stream miles. Companies ship more than 50 million tons of cargo
- from coal and wood chips to rockets - along Alabama waterways each year. Alabamians have registered
248,316 boats, including more than 1,500 commercial fishing and passenger vessels but not including
barges or other large cargo vessels.
POWER GENERATION:
Alabama Power and Tennessee Valley Authority have 17 hydroelectric facilities in the state that typically
provide up to 6 percent of the electricity for their nearly 2 million customers in the state. Those two utilities
also use river water to cool their eight coal-fired and two nuclear plants.
RECREATION:
Hunters, fishermen, swimmers and nature watchers generate about $4.4 bil ion for Alabama's economy
each year.
IRRIGATION:
The 130,000 to 170,000 acres of farmland irrigated in Alabama in 2006 ranked the state last in the nation in
irrigation. But the number of acres under irrigation may have grown in the past two years due to the
drought.
WILDLIFE:
More than 320 species of fish call Alabama's waters home. Wildlife and rare plants also depend on the
habitat created along the rivers and streams, making Alabama fifth in the nation in plant and animal
diversity but also fourth in the number of species at risk for extinction. Alabama's rivers and streams once
harbored the most diverse assemblage of freshwater mollusks in North America. Today, 69 percent of
Alabama bivalves are either extinct, endangered or threatened, mostly due to flooding from hydroelectric
dams. Sources: Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Alabama Cooperative Extension
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7/7/2008
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Service, river groups, Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Alabama Power, TVA,
Auburn University, and Samford University biology professor Larry Davenport.
© 2008 The Birmingham News
© 2008 al.com All Rights Reserved.
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1215418538297360.xml&coll=2
7/7/2008
Page 1 of 2
USING ALABAMA'S WATER
Monday, July 07, 2008
DRINKING WATER, SANITATION:
About 80 water systems in Alabama pull water from reservoirs or rivers and about 370 systems pull from
underground aquifers. About 30 percent of Alabama residents still have their own water wells. About 695
public and private wastewater plants are permitted to discharge treated wastewater into Alabama's rivers.
INDUSTRY:
The state has issued permits to 3,264 industries who are permitted to discharge treated water into
Alabama's waterways. Industries along the rivers and streams pull water out for making their products or
cooling equipment.
NAVIGATION:
Alabama is first in the nation in navigable stream miles. Companies ship more than 50 million tons of cargo
- from coal and wood chips to rockets - along Alabama waterways each year. Alabamians have registered
248,316 boats, including more than 1,500 commercial fishing and passenger vessels but not including
barges or other large cargo vessels.
POWER GENERATION:
Alabama Power and Tennessee Valley Authority have 17 hydroelectric facilities in the state that typically
provide up to 6 percent of the electricity for their nearly 2 million customers in the state. Those two utilities
also use river water to cool their eight coal-fired and two nuclear plants.
RECREATION:
Hunters, fishermen, swimmers and nature watchers generate about $4.4 bil ion for Alabama's economy
each year.
IRRIGATION:
The 130,000 to 170,000 acres of farmland irrigated in Alabama in 2006 ranked the state last in the nation in
irrigation. But the number of acres under irrigation may have grown in the past two years due to the
drought.
WILDLIFE:
More than 320 species of fish call Alabama's waters home. Wildlife and rare plants also depend on the
habitat created along the rivers and streams, making Alabama fifth in the nation in plant and animal
diversity but also fourth in the number of species at risk for extinction. Alabama's rivers and streams once
harbored the most diverse assemblage of freshwater mollusks in North America. Today, 69 percent of
Alabama bivalves are either extinct, endangered or threatened, mostly due to flooding from hydroelectric
dams. Sources: Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Alabama Cooperative Extension
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1215418538297360.xml&coll=2
7/7/2008
al.com's Printer-Friendly Page
Page 2 of 2
Service, river groups, Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Alabama Power, TVA,
Auburn University, and Samford University biology professor Larry Davenport.
© 2008 The Birmingham News
© 2008 al.com All Rights Reserved.
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1215418538297360.xml&coll=2
7/7/2008
Scientific Reccommendations for Roebuck Springs