In recent months the deluge of rain has caused sewer overflows in communities surrounding Mobile Bay. This has become a common occurrence in Baldwin County water treatment areas which have seen tremendous population growth in the past decade. 

In the past week ADEM said the city of Fairhope reported that an estimated 451,064 gallons spilled from a manhole inside the Fairhope Waste Water Treatment Plant from just before 8 a.m. to just after 1 p.m. The spill entered a storm drain that empties into Mobile Bay, according to ADEM.

Mayor Sherry Sullivan of Fairhope stated this was not a sewage spill but instead was an overflow of a manhole at the wastewater treatment plant. The overflow contained fully treated effluent, she said.

While the overflow was "treated effluent" the amount of the discharge was much larger than typical reports. (Effluent is waste that usually flows from the premises directly into the main sewer network and it cannot enter a river, reservoir, stream or lake unless it is cleaned and treated first.)

Due to the population increases in Baldwin County communities many of the waste-water plants are seeking funding so they can increase their capacity. While Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have upgraded their utilities, other "upstream or up bay" facilities are in need of expansion and municipal funding.

Why is this a concern for coastal Baldwin residents? As you can see from the ADEM map below, the spills in the northern parts of Mobile Bay flow into areas of Fort Morgan and western Gulf Shores.