GUY BUSBY/GULF COAST MEDIA

ROBERTSDALE — Natural debris and human litter are problems that county officials said they are working to resolve.

At a work session of the Baldwin County Commission on Monday, May 16, Terri Graham, county environmental director, said some residents have reported problems with litter being dumped into creeks from bridges. Wood debris can also cause problems by blocking the flow of streams.

One proposal being studied by county officials would be a contract to have a company come in to remove natural debris. She said some work could be done without needing permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"They could go in and remove whatever was blocking that and this would not be anything that required a corps permit," Graham said. "This is just the small stuff."

One area where a problem was reported was on Negro Creek off Baldwin County 73 in Summerdale, according to county reports. A resident reported that debris in the creek, including trash and wood left from the replacement of a bridge more than 20 years ago, had caused flooding on their property.

Commissioner Charles "Skip" Gruber said small amounts of debris can pile up and grow into flooding problems. He said trees and limbs washed into streams during Hurricane Sally in 2020 are still causing problems.

"I know it is a problem," Gruber said. "This goes back to right after the hurricane. We asked that the state look at our streams because they were going to flood because of all the debris that was going into these creeks. When you get a tree down, it starts collecting stuff and it causes a dam."

Joey Nunnally, county engineer, said Baldwin crews can remove material that piles up near bridges if the debris puts the structure in danger. Crews can't remove the debris along the entire stream.

"So, if it's up against a bridge and it's causing problems, threatening the bridge's structural capacity, then we'll go ahead and get it out immediately," Nunnally said. "I think what she's (Graham) talking about is going to be something a little different up and downstream of the bridge."

Gruber said navigable waterways are the responsibility of the state.

"If they're not doing their job, we need to point that out and we need to insist because where the debris ends up may not be where it was put in," Davis said.

Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood said she has also received complaints from residents about large items dumped into creeks from bridges in areas such as Styx River. She said some residents have offered to help remove the litter.

"If this is something that you think that would assist sometimes when we get these problems, and also that we could maybe somehow work with some of the citizens' groups that are willing to go out and pick up litter and do these kinds of things, because that's an area that's kind of overlooked," Underwood said.

She said some waterways in more populated areas of Baldwin County have programs to remove litter. The issue, however, is a problem throughout the county, she said.

The proposal being studied by the commission would develop an on-call contract for a company to come to an area and remove debris.