The cahaba river is a primary tributary of the alabama river in the mobile river basin in alabama IT is the longest free flowing river in the state and is known to have the greatest stream fish…

The Geological Survey of Alabama will receive $172,847 under a Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4. The grant funding supports work under the Candidate Species Conservation program to inventory and assess springs in the Cahaba River watershed of Alabama.

Specifically, the Geological Survey of Alabama will map spring locations, overlay them against geology and physiography maps, and attempt to identify potential sources of point source pollution. They will also create a risk assessment for springs. Where appropriate, they will assist other agencies with limited faunal surveys of springs that may support federally or state protected snail species. The work will help provide a comprehensive assessment of the Cahaba River watershed's springs and their respective faunas that has not previously existed. The grant period is from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2025.

The cahaba river is a primary tributary of the alabama river in the mobile river basin in alabama IT is the longest free flowing river in the state and is known to have the greatest stream fish diversity of any similarly sized river in the country IT also has one of the most diverse mussel and snail faunas remaining in north america many of the snails inhabit springs, including federally and state protected species while the fish and mussel faunas of flowing streams in the cahaba river watershed are better known, there has never been a comprehensive assessment of the systems springs, nor of their respective faunas the geological survey of alabama proposes to create such a product by determining the locations of and inventorying springs, mapping them, and overlaying their locations against geology and physiography we will also attempt to identify and map potential sources of point source pollution and create a risk assessment we may also assist other agencies with limited faunal surveys of springs found to show characteristics of springs with listed taxa present