Report Recommends Removal of the Roebuck Tennis Courts
by Glynn Wilson
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially launched a formal investigation into the Roebuck Springs fish kill in September that resulted in the death of an estimated 11,760 endangered watercress darters (E. nuchale), according to Tom MacKenzie, the agency’s chief of media relations in Atlanta.
He could not say whether it will result in only civil penalties against the city or a recommendation of a criminal prosecution under the Endangered Species Act to the U.S. attorneys office in Birmingham against the individuals involved.
Due to the number of fish and the potential penalty of up to $1,000 for each one, the potential civil liability on the part of the city could top $10.1 million.
Meanwhile, a group of scientists released a report on Tuesday outlining specific problems in the spring pool where the dam was illegally removed by city personnel. The group of scientists proposed solutions for the protection of the rare fish in the Village Creek watershed.
The most drastic proposal includes removing, moving, or reducing the size of the tennis courts.
“These recommendations are based on the best science available for this species of fish and its habitat requirements,” Dr. R. Scot Duncan, Associate Professor of Biology and Urban Environmental Studies at Birmingham-Southern College, said. “It is our hope that these recommendations will be used to inform decision-makers on how to best protect this unique population.”
For starters, the report, signed by Duncan, recommends the immediate and ongoing trapping and removal from the pond of exotic virile crayfish, (orconectes virilis), which feed on the darters. This is already underway at the pool.
[To see a large, high-resolution photo of one of the exotic crayfish eating one of the watercress darters after the kill, look at this photo taken by Glynn Wilson.]
The Fish and Wildlife Service had recommended and the city built a temporary sandbag dam to prevent further loss of water and even more fish from the pool. The report points out that this dam is relatively unstable and may fail in the event of a strong rain storm.
The report recommends monitoring the sand-bag dam and constructing a more permanent structure that raises water levels gradually and allows for upstream migration. There are several barriers along the creek to upstream migration, including a culvert below the tennis courts.
The tennis courts are a very significant barrier to upstream and downstream migration for the entire population, which prevents healthy breeding of the sensitive fish, according to the report.
“While some fish may be swept down stream during floods, it is the consensus of the team,” the report says, that “…very few fish will ever swim upstream through the approximately 55 meters of underground storm water pipe.”
So their first recommendation is to relocate the tennis courts. If that cannot be accomplished, they say, the number of courts could be reduced from four to two.
“For a fish-friendly dam to provide benefit to the spring pool population of watercress darters, the problem of the tennis courts as a barrier must also be solved,” the reports says. “Even if the tennis courts are not relocated in the near-term, a fish friendly dam should be established…”
Another problem is a storm-water drain that empties into the spring pool from off-site, the probable source that causes flooding in the spring pool and occasionally floods the tennis courts, as well as the conduit and source of toxins.
The report recommends re-engineering this portion of the storm water system to divert storm water elsewhere, and channeling storm water from the parking lot though a filtering system.
Also, the stream is underground for 65 meters below the entrance and exit roads connecting the Hawkins Recreational Center with the street.
The scientists recommend building a bridge to bring the stream into daylight.
Then, there is a second dam downstream from the spring below the Hawkins Recreational Center parking area. They recommend removing it and replacing it with a better structure that allows upstream migration.
All existing watercress darter habitat at Roebuck Springs is restricted to one channel downstream from the spring, which could make the population vulnerable to a large chemical spill at a point near the spring pool, the report warns. And another spring-fed pool, Wilson Springs, feeds a tributary that enters the golf course and Roebuck Springs stream from the south, and appears to be a source of pollutants and bank instability in the creek.
The banks should be stabilized, storm water feeding the stream should be cleaned, and storm water flow during flash floods should be slowed with barriers that do not impede fish migration, the report recommends.
The owner of Wilson Springs used Bluestone (copper sulfate) in the spring pool to kill algae and plant life in the past, the experts say, which is why this tributary never supported watercress darters.
“When approached years ago, the owner was adamant that he would not stop using these chemicals. [Yet] the owner is now deceased,” the authors write, so “it is possible that the current owners may respond more favorably to discussions about ceasing the use of chemicals in Wilson springs and its stream. Perhaps a deal could be made and a conservation easement established for the land owner.”
And since weed and pest control is an on-going aspect of maintaining the center, especially the golf course, and since aquatic vegetation is the most important habitat requirement for the fish, the use of herbicides at the facility is in conflict with the habitat needs of the fish and should be minimized. They recommend storing any chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides as far away from the stream as possible, in a location where drainage is away from Roebuck Springs pool and creek.
They also recommend removing two creosote telephone poles from the spring pool, since creosote is a known toxin.
More public information about watercress darters and what is necessary for management of the fish habitat is “not readily available to the administration and guards at VACCA and, obviously, the administrators of Hawkins Recreational Center,” the report says. Since they play an essential role in the protection of the fish, they need to know whom to call and how to respond to a situation that may jeopardize the fish and its habitat.
So they recommend providing administrators and staff of both VACCA and Hawkins Recreational Center with a list of emergency contacts to call if they observe or suspect a real or potential threat to the spring and the spring run as well as educational workshops and pamphlets.
They also recommend more obvious signage at the site in the short term to increase public awareness and help prevent or limit future catastrophes.
In the long term, they recommend transferring the ownership to a local or national conservation land trust.
The scientists acknowledge that a fish-friendly dam will likely be “beaver-friendly,” so they suggest once beavers are detected in the spring pool, they should be trapped and relocated.
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| Glynn Wilson |
| Before and After: The first image on the left shows the spring pool with the beaver dam. The middle shot shows it after the illegal dam removal. The third image on the right shows the new sand bag dam. |
Related Links:
Birmingham Southern Biology Department
Birmingham Southern Urban Environmental Studies
Related Coverage (most recent first):
Roebuck Springs Dam Update
Roebuck Springs Fish Kill Update
Editorial: Major Price Should Be Paid for Fish Kill
Major Lawsuit, Penalties Expected in Roebuck Fish Kill
At Least 1,000 Endangered Watercress Darters Killed
