One Mile Creek, a waterway that winds through Mobile before feeding into Three Mile Creek and eventually the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, is set to get cleaner thanks to new federal funding secured by a local environmental nonprofit. Mobile Baykeeper has been awarded a grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program to help remove litter and debris from the creek, which has long struggled with trash accumulation from stormwater runoff and illegal dumping.
The award came after a competitive, multi-stage evaluation process that drew applications from environmental groups across the country. In the end, NOAA selected just 11 organizations nationwide to share in the funding round, which totaled $1,238,358. Of that total, Mobile Baykeeper was allocated $56,013 to put toward cleanup work on One Mile Creek.
One Mile Creek has been identified by local environmental advocates as one of the more heavily impacted urban waterways in the Mobile area, with debris regularly washing downstream during heavy rains and collecting along its banks and in its channel. Because the creek connects to Three Mile Creek and ultimately drains into the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, litter left unchecked in its upper reaches can travel much farther, affecting wildlife habitat and water quality throughout the broader delta ecosystem.
Mobile Baykeeper has spent years working on water quality issues throughout the Mobile Bay watershed, including monitoring pollution, advocating for stronger environmental protections and organizing volunteer cleanup events. The NOAA Marine Debris Program grant gives the organization additional resources to expand its efforts specifically along One Mile Creek, where accumulated trash has been a persistent concern for nearby neighborhoods.
NOAA’s Marine Debris Program funds projects across the country that aim to prevent and remove debris from waterways before it can reach larger bodies of water and the ocean, where it poses risks to marine life and coastal economies. Local advocates say targeting smaller urban creeks like One Mile Creek is a critical piece of that mission, since debris that enters small tributaries is often what ends up in larger, more visible waterways downstream.
Additional details on the timeline and scope of the cleanup work, including whether community volunteer opportunities will be part of the effort, are expected to be announced by Mobile Baykeeper as the project moves forward.