More than 3,000 miles of sanitary sewer lines serve 480,000 people in Jefferson County. This vital function makes it possible for customers to rise in the morning, get ready for work or school, and not have to think about what happens to their waste water after showering, brushing teeth, or flushing! One challenge to the operation of the sanitary sewer system is the buildup of fats, oils, and grease – FOG – in the sewer lines. Over time, these substances can create clogs and result in backups that cause sewage to overflow into homes, yards, streets, and waterways. Not only are these events costly to repair, they also can be a health hazard. One main source of FOG in the sewer system is households.
No matter what you cook or how you cook it, there usually is some fat, oil or grease involved in the process. When the holiday meals are over and it’s time to wash the stack of plates, pots, pans, and casserole dishes piled in the sink, take a few minutes to make sure that FOG doesn’t wash down the kitchen drain. Even if you have a garbage disposal or use hot water and detergent, it will not prevent FOG buildup in your plumbing or the sewer system. If you are connected to a septic system, a similar scenario applies – FOG can build up and cause your septic system to malfunction.
The good news is that the solution is easy! Discard in the trash unwanted food scraps from plates and cookware. Any remaining FOG can be cooled and poured or scraped into a plastic or metal container with a lid and taken to the nearest Jefferson County cooking oil recycling station. New recycling containers are available to you for free at all recycling stations. Preventing FOG from going down the drain can go a long way toward reducing plumbing emergencies and unhealthy sewer overflows.
Lyn DiClemente
Jefferson County Department of Storm Water Management
The Darter Festival is a lively celebration of the Watercress Darter—a gorgeous fish that lives in Birmingham and nowhere else in the world! The Darter Festival will be held on Saturday, April 5th from 11 am to 4 pm at Railroad Park. We will feature performances by blues pianist Clay Swafford, rising indie stars The Heavy Hearts, and world music and dance with Jon Scalici and Erynias Tribe. Good People Brewing Company will feature the limited edition Darter Spring Ale, and the Fish Market will provide specialty dishes and a children’s menu. There will also be kite flying, darter art, and a Watercress Darter Photo Booth, sponsored by the Alumni Association of Birmingham-Southern College. The Darter Festival is free and open to the public. Proceeds benefit the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College and the Railroad Park Foundation. VIP packages are available by calling 205-226-7740 or going to http://www.bsc.edu/sec/darterfest.cfm
By now, it’s probably becoming impossible to ignore all those leaves falling in your yard. If you tried mulching leaves last year, you probably found that you saved yourself some serious time and money by using your mower to mulch leaves into your lawn (free nutrients) and by re-purposing excess leaves (free mulch) to provide cover for your landscaped areas.
If you’ve never tried these techniques, maybe this is the time to move on from hours of blowing and bagging, the cost of buying mulch and fertilizer, and the effort involved in loading and bringing all these materials home – to that solution that just fell into your yard! It’s best to mulch leaves into your lawn every week or so to make the volume of leaves more manageable for you and utilized more efficiently by your lawn.
Try using your lawnmower with the bag attachment on to shred and collect leaves prior to spreading on landscaped areas. Shredding before spreading reduces matting and creates a more uniform appearance. If you simply can’t let go of the more manicured look that commercially produced mulch gives your landscape, try spreading a thin layer of purchased mulch over a layer of shredded leaves.
Birmingham E-cycle Day October 23 – Don’t doom your old gadgets to a landfill! Bring them to Short 20th Street North for recycling. http://www.aeconline.org/blog
Now that summer has finally arrived, those seeking refuge from the heat are flocking to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. And why not? Turkey Creek offers some of the cleanest, coolest waters in town, not to mention breath-taking beauty. Everyone seems to have their favorite shady spot for picnicking or reflecting as they watch the water flow by.
Since the crowds are growing thicker, it seems like a good time to discuss a few tips for how you and your family can make the most of your visit.
TCNP TIP #1: Always follow the rules!
No one wants to have their time or worse yet, their family’s time cut short because they could not follow the rules. This happens more often than it should, so please, make a point to review all Preserve’s regulations prior to your visit, which can be found HERE or on any of the Preserve’s kiosks. Please note that anyone found not adhering to these rules, will be asked to leave immediately. There is no excuse for not knowing.
TCNP TIP #2: Know the Hours of Operation and plan accordingly
It is easily the most common question by visitors to TCNP: “What are the operational hours?”. Well, this is a very easy one: Wednesday through Sunday we close at 5:30pm. We are closed all day on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Friday and Saturday morning we have special “Pedestrian Only” hours from 7am-9am. At 9am regular motor traffic is allowed in. On all the other days (Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday) we open at 8am.
TCNP TIP #3: Come early or on a slow day
Anyone that has visited TCNP on a weekend knows how busy it can become and how difficult it can be at times to find a parking or picnic spot. The simplest way to avoid this headache is to visit during off-peak hours. I have spent over a year and a half watching the traffic and I am more than happy to share what I have observed. Come Early: traffic at TCNP (even on weekends) tends to be at it’s height in the hotter parts of the day. Visitors that come out early get the best parking/picnic spots. Thursdays: If you can swing it, a Thursday is the best time to come out and find a spot to yourself. Wednesdays and Fridays can be just as busy as a weekend, but for some reason, Thursdays are usually quite slow.
TCNP TIP #4: Stay Hydrated
On a hot summer’s day, there is nothing better than cooling off in the refreshing waters of Turkey Creek. However, even in that cool water, you can quickly become dehydrated. This happens quickly, and without a lot of warning at times. So, please drink a lot of water during your visit. It could save your life. Plus, it is never ends well if you are dizzy on slippery rocks!
TCNP TIP #5: There is more to TCNP than just “The Falls”
There is no doubt, The Falls offer some of the most majestic beauty TCNP has to offer. Their unique features bring many visitors to Turkey Creek, but they are often times quite crowded. For those of you that wish to enjoy the waters of TCNP or avoid the crowds, seek spots upstream of The Falls. These upper reaches offer some equally stunning views of Turkey Creek, as well as some great spots to lounge in the shade. Furthermore, TCNP has recently added a mile and a half of beautiful new trail along the ridge above Turkey Creek. This offers visitors the opportunity park in the Highlands picnic area and hike to The Falls area.
Thank you for reading, I hope that these tips help you to better enjoy your next visit to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.
Please remember, that we do not charge admission, and it is very difficult and expensive to keep the Preserve clean. On your next visit, take a look around you before you leave and pick up any trash (even if it is not yours). It will go a long way to making sure that others are able to enjoy TCNP as you have, and will help keep operational costs down.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or email me at cyeager@bsc.edu.
Next week, contributing author Lyn DiClementel, will provide readers with some insight into the importance of controlling stormwater runoff in her column “JeffCo H2O.”
This month, we will conclude The Hanby Enterprise story at Turkey Creek. Part 1 of this can be found HERE.
David Hanby was around the age of 18 when he moved to Alabama with his father. He was around 26 when he helped his father, John Hanby, construct the Hanby Mill and forge on Turkey Creek. Richard Anderson suspects that in addition to John’s age, the extreme labor demands required in blacksmithing meant that, David was likely to have taken over most of these duties by the late 1820s.
Realizing the potential wealth of central Alabama’s natural resources, David’s efforts to expand the enterprises he helped his father create did not end at blacksmithing and milling. According to Dr. Allen J. Tower, in his article entitled “The Changing Economy of Birmingham and Jefferson County” Published in the Journal of Birmingham Historical Society (January 1960), around 1840 David began mining and selling coal. This operation was not quite as straight forward as it might sound, however, because the most lucrative market for coal at the time was in Mobile, Alabama. To reach Mobile, David, yet again, utilized Alabama’s rich resources: its interconnected water ways (since there were no railroads in the area until the 1880s). Using 25 foot long “flatboats” packed with coal, David traveled from the Mulberry Fork to the Black Warrior River and all the way down to Mobile Bay. After arriving in Mobile and selling his cargo, he would disassemble the flatboats and sell the lumber. This must have proved to be a particularly lucrative venture, since Dr. Tower notes that by 1844 David braved this journey up to ten times a year.
Above: An example of a typical flatboat used during Hanby’s time
Time and age grind away, and what was once new and lucrative will eventually find itself worn and brittle. Despite the prosperity and scope of the Hanby enterprise, it too, was subject to the terms of age. In 1865, David’s life came to an end when a brigade in Union General Croxton’s forces killed David, and destroyed his operations at Turkey Creek. While it remains unclear why the Hanbys were targeted for this assault, we do know that Croxton’s mission was to destroy Confederate supply lines and manufacturing sources. It can be assumed that the Hanby operation was providing the Confederate army with munitions or other goods. Further expounding this mystery is the circumstance surrounding David’s demise. One local legend suggests that while on a hog hunt, David in his advanced years, decided to take a nap under a tree. While napping, Union troops advanced on David’s position, startling him out of his sleep. When asked to lower his hunting rifle by Union troops, David who was partially deaf, only starred back in surprise at the soldiers. Feeling left without any other recourse, the soldiers tragically fired on David. After David’s death, his wife sold his property along Turkey Creek to William Nabers, effectively ending all operations at Turkey Creek.
Today, after years of natural and human disturbances, very little remains at Turkey Creek to suggest the scope of the operations that once existed there. What does remain is a wealth of history and stories told by a community that shares a passionate respect for their forefathers and the painstaking efforts they took to settle this area. So, on your next visit to the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, keep these stories in mind, but please, respect the preservation of this history by leaving it as you found it for future generations.
For more information related to the history of the Preserve, come out for one of our Living History Programs. Event dates can be found on our events calendar.
Next week, contributing author Lyn DiClementel, will explore the importance of finding the right balance when comes to applying chemicals to their lawn or garden in the JeffCo H2O column.
Until then, we’ll see ya downstream!
Charles Yeager
Manager, Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
Historical details and images are an interpretation of Richard K. Anderson, Jr findings published in “Turkey Creek Cultural Resource Mapping Project for Proposed Turkey Creek Preserve Pinson, Alabama” 2002
