Last updated: September 2024
The Dog River Watershed Restoration project aims to protect and enhance the chemical, biological, and cultural integrity of the Dog River Watershed in Mobile County, Alabama (Ref 1). Guided by the Dog River Watershed Management Plan (WMP), the project addresses key issues such as pollution, litter, stormwater management, and habitat degradation (Ref 2). Funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund and completed in partnership with stakeholders, the project focuses on implementing targeted restoration activities to improve water quality, protect critical habitats, and increase public awareness and access to the watershed (Ref 2). The Dog River Watershed faces significant hazards, including pollution, sedimentation, erosion, and the impacts of urban development (Ref 3). These challenges are intensified by the watershed’s role as an urban estuary, where land use heavily influences water quality and habitat conditions (Ref 3). To mitigate these threats, the project incorporates pollution prevention measures, shoreline restoration efforts, and community engagement initiatives (Ref 4). By prioritizing scientifically supported actions and aligning with broader environmental goals, the project seeks to restore ecological balance and ensure the long-term health and resilience of the watershed and its connected ecosystems in Mobile Bay (Ref 4). The Watershed Management Plan for the Dog River Watershed is a key component of the Mobile Bay Shore Habitat Conservation and Acquisition Initiative, which focuses on acquiring, restoring, and preserving habitats and wildlife species affected by the environmental disasters of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010 (Ref 6). The project spans three critical areas: 300 acres in the Dog River Watershed (as detailed in this project profile), 450 acres within the Three Mile Creek Watershed, and 40 acres in the Garrows Bend Watershed (not in focus here) (Ref 7).
Comparison 1964/2016 LULC for the greater Dog River Watershed
https://dogriver.org/about-us/our-urban-watershed/ accessed on01/09/2024
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
- Coastal wetland, mangroves and salt marshes
- In-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors
- Riverbank/Lakeside greens
- Green areas for water management
- Rain gardens
- Sustainable urban drainage systems
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
- Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
- Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Flood protection
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Improvements to water quality
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Improving physical health
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: industry
- Tourism support
- Employment/job creation
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal flooding
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Coastal hazards (e.g. erosion, flooding)
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Invasive alien species
- Poor water quality
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Rapid urbanization
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Implementation of green areas for water management (e.g. rain gardens), Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, River rehabilitation/ restoration, Restoration, protecion and sustainable manage floodplains, Upper watershed restoration and management, Restoration of riparian vegetation, Coastal landscape management or protection, Improving coastal resilience, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Restoration of wetlands (other types than peatlands and mangroves, e.g. seagrass), Restoration and protection of ecosystems (including water ecosystems), Protection of natural ecosystems, Protecton and enhancement of wetlands (other types than peatlands and mangroves, e.g. seagrass), Habitat restoration, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs
Project objectives
1. Improving water quality:
• Reduce sediment rates in increments of 25%
• Reduce trash accumulation (preliminary goal of reducing trash recovery tonnages by 50% over 10 years)
• Reduce stormwater runoff
• Reduction of concentrations of components that comprise nutrients
• Reductions of the bacteria counts
2. Protecting and restoring critical habitats to support healthy populations of fish and wildlife
3. Improving ecological resiliency, notably to flooding events
4. Improving access to blue and green spaces (Ref 4)
Implementation activities
1. To improve water quality:
- implementing additional litter traps, stormwater inlet screens, catch basin filters, volunteer clean-ups
- addressing human behaviour through public education and awareness
- Implement stormwater runoff management techniques
2. To protect and restore habitats:
• Acquire 1,000 acres of existing natural wetlands and ecologically significant land.
• Restore 6,000 linear feet of streams.
• Employ 5 acres of bioretention systems.
• Employ 20 acres of constructed stormwater wetlands.
• Restore 20,000 linear feet of riparian buffer.
• Employ living shoreline techniques to at least 3,000 linear feet of shorelines.
3. To improve resiliency:
• Acquire at least 50% of the 95 acres of land identified for habitat migration.
• Develop an adaptation action area designation for low-lying zones that may experience flooding due to high tides and storm surges, and that are vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise
4. to improve access:
• Add at least six new access points.
• Improve access points through signage and mapping.
• Increase interpretative signage on historic and cultural themes.
• Develop a boater’s guide to highlight local waterways and access points (Ref 4)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Restore mangroves, marshes, reefs and wetlands to dissipate the effects of storms and floodwaters
- Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels
- Restore rivers and other fresh water bodies to reduce flood or drought risk
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Clear and control invasive alien species
- Restore ecological connectivity
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Coastal-dependent communities (e.g. small-scale fishers, coastal farmers, and indigenous peoples)
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The plan is led by the City of Mobile and Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) (NGO) (Ref 1). The Mobile City Council has officially endorsed the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (Ref 2).
Contractors: Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood (GMC) (private sector) (Ref 2)
Implementation: The Dog River Clearwater Revival (DRCR) (NGO) (Ref 5)
Significant funding has been provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (NGO) (Ref 6)
Citizens and stakeholders were consulted (Ref 4)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Yes
(Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (to restore the ecosystem affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill) (Ref 6))
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Dog River Watershed Management Plan (WMP) (Ref. 1, 2).)
Type of enablers
Capacity-building projects, Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Increased protection against sea level rise
- Expected increased protection against sea level rise
- Storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Expected storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Expected enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Expected improved waste management
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Expected improved water quality
- Increased protection against flooding
- Expected increased protection against flooding
- Improved stormwater management
- Expected improved stormwater management
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Expected increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Expected reduced biodiversity loss
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Expected increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- More sustainable tourism
- Expected more sustainable tourism
- Attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Expected improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Expected improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
- Expected increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (n.d.). Dog River. Mobile, Al: Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
2.
GMC (2018). Mobile City Council endorses Dog River Watershed Management Plan. Mobile, Al: GMC, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Dog River Clear Water Revival (n.d.). Our Urban Watershed. Mobile, Al: Dog River Clear Water Revival, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
4.
GMC (2017). DOG RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN. Mobile, Al: GMC, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Dog River Clear Water Revival (2023). Dog River Clear Water Revival 2023 Annual report. Mobile, Al: Dog River Clear Water Revival, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
6.
National Fish and Wild Life Foundation (n.d.). Dog River Clear Water Revival - Phase II. Mobile, Al: National Fish and Wild Life Foundation, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
7.
City of Mobile (2016). Contract presented to conserve the coast. Mobile, Al: City of Mobile, Accessed on September 1, 2024, [Source link];
8.
CityData.com (2022). demographics mobile 36605 Zip Code. Mobile, Al: CityData.com, Accessed on September 2, 2024, [Source link];
9.
CityData.com (2022). Demographics Mobile 36619 Zip Code. Mobile, Al: CityData.com, Accessed on September 2, 2024, [Source link];
10.
CityData.com (2022). Demographics Mobile 36693 Zip Code. Mobile, Al: CityData.com, Accessed on September 2, 2024, [Source link];
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.