Environmental group warns St. Clair County residents to avoid water near landfill

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - As things improve in St. Clair County, the Cahaba Riverkeeper says residents should still have some concerns.

There is a runoff from the landfill to a lake on Annie Lee Road where some neighbors swim and eat fish. The riverkeeper recommends water testing before residents take a dip.

But, it won’t be cheap. The testing could cost about $700 and take about 7 to 10 days to get results.

The riverkeeper has taken samples from water near the landfill as recently as last week. In the past, they’ve found more than 100 chemicals present in their water samples which is why they don’t recommend swimming or eating from any water near the site.

“I think they should just be very aware of what type of risk they’re taking and if they can afford to sample at the lake, that would help to determine what that risk is,” says Butler. “Even with fish consumption, it’s an expensive analysis. It’s not something that every lab does, and I’d be very cautious about eating from the lakes near the landfill”.

The riverkeeper expects to have the results from the last round of water samples in the next week.

To learn more about their testing, click here.

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved.