The Cahaba River

For thousands of years, the Cahaba River, with the other rivers and streams of Alabama, has moved unceasingly to the sea. And just beneath the normally peaceful waters exist perhaps the greatest collection of plant and animal life in North America. Overstatement? Hardly. While Alabama is the 29th largest state, it ranks fourth in the number of plant and animal species. Fully eight percent of all the freshwater flowing through the continental United States flows …showed first 75 words of 660 total…

…showed last 75 words of 660 total…treated sewage is released into the Cahaba along its length. In addition, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has licensed 103 industries to discharge waste at 167 points along the river. Perhaps the most under-appreciated value of the Cahaba is its simple, natural beauty. No other city of Birmingham’s size contains an urban environmental experience to rival the Cahaba. One unfortunate characteristic of the river is that it’s practically invisible, particularly in the Birmingham area.