Senate committee gives favorable report to bill limiting unilateral water-system closures after Big Creek Lake shutdown

The Senate committee gave a favorable report to Senate Bill 272, a measure sponsored in the chamber by Senator Williams, after residents of Mobile County and a Department of Conservation witness said the Mobile-area water system abruptly closed Big Creek Lake and restricted public access.

Representatives and residents told the committee the lake has been managed as a public waterbody for decades and that the closure was ordered by the utility’s director rather than its board. "This bill is stemming from the closure of a navigable waterway in Mobile County, Big Creek Lake by Malls," Representative Stringer told the committee, adding that the decision was made "by the director of Malls, not by the board."

The bill would require notice and procedures before a director could effect a long-term closure of a navigable waterway and would create paths for review, including a specified public-notice period and a right to seek judicial review, according to language described to the committee.

Why it matters: Big Creek Lake supplies drinking water and is used for fishing and recreation by nearby communities. Witnesses said the state Department of Conservation has declared the waterway navigable and that the department has stocked the lake with roughly 900,000 hybrid bass since 1974, which residents said underscores the lake’s recreational and economic importance.

At the public hearing, a Department of Conservation representative told the committee that Big Creek was declared a navigable waterway and "a public lake or public body of water" under an act of the Alabama legislature dating to 1858 and that state records confirm meandered surveys and submerged-rights uses. The witness said the department recognizes a utility’s right to protect pumping stations and other critical infrastructure but maintained that the public generally retains access rights if a waterbody is publicly held.

Multiple residents testified in favor of SB272. Alvin Hutchinson, who said he has fished Big Creek since the early 1960s, described the lake as part of his family’s history and said residents were not given hearings before the closure. "No public hearings. No anything," Hutchinson said. Shane Hobson, who said five generations of his family have used the lake, urged lawmakers to pass the bill so residents could regain access. Larry Godfrey provided historical material to senators and said the utility had refused to explain its actions to residents.

Committee action: A committee member moved to give the bill a favorable report; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee recorded the bill as given a favorable report for further consideration on the Senate floor.

The bill, as described at the hearing, would set a process that includes advance notice, an opportunity for public comment and a time-limited closure (for example, a 90-day period that must be reevaluated), with an appeal route to circuit court if further closure is ordered. Committee members and witnesses discussed whether the measure should remain narrowly local or be styled for broader application; sponsors said advertising time limited how the bill was presented to the committee.

No binding final action on the merits of the underlying dispute was taken at the hearing; the committee’s favorable report advances the bill toward floor consideration where additional amendment and debate may occur.