For those of us who use and drink from the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, the past few summers have revealed the extent to which our water is being polluted. I would say the summer of 2019 has been life changing for many of us.

Unfortunately, we are not alone. 3M’s illegal chemical release into the Tennessee River was reported on social media and by the press. In South Alabama Union Town’s struggle for clean water has been well documented. On September 13, 2019, Black Warrior Riverkeeper posted that wastewater is being discharged into Freetown Creek which makes its way to the Alabama River. Improper sewage treatment has plagued Union Town in one way or another for years.

This is 2019. How can it be that we still allow the systematic pollution of our water? How can it be that we are not notified when there is a life-threatening “spill” into our waterways? I remember in school learning that there are three basic needs for survival: food, water, and shelter. Water is a basic human need, and yet, we allow companies and municipalities to pour filth into our rivers.

I suppose we all believe that our water treatment facilities can blast the filth coated water with enough chemicals that the bad stuff can be killed, or maybe we think we can filter out the bad chemicals poured in by these companies. Deep down we instinctively know how dangerous it is to ignore the pollution of our life-giving rivers.

Alabama deserves better.