The Pollution of the Coosa River:

What is Happening in Our Local Waters

Case Study Report

Abigail A. Odom

Department of English, Auburn University

ENGL 4180: Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Ecological Rhetoric and Rhetorical Ecologies

Dr. Chad Wickman

26 April 2024
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The Pollution of the Coosa River: What is Happening in Our Local Waters

Introduction

Alabama is one of the most ecologically diverse states. It houses many different types of

biomes and unique species that bring recreation like hunting, fishing, and fresh game to the

forefront of the state’s economy and welfare. Alabama is situated among the other states with

influence because of its multitude of waterways. One of Alabama’s most prominent rivers and

watershed regions is the Coosa River. The Coosa River begins in Northern Georgia at the

intersection of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers. It then runs south through the Appalachian

Ridge and Valley Regions and into the Gulf Coast Plane where it receives the Chattooga River

(“Coosa River”). The Coosa covers over 10,000 square miles in its watershed areas, impacting

13 different counties, and flows for 280 miles before depositing its waters into the Alabama

River in central Alabama. The Alabama River then carries the water into the Gulf of Mexico

through the Mobile River and the Mobile Bay. The image below depicts the Coosa’s wide

reaching watershed area:

Image 1 (“Coosa River Basin”)

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The Coosa River watershed not only provides the scenic beauty that is characteristic of

Alabama’s society, but also houses many of the quintessential Alabama aquatic wildlife

populations like the Blue Catfish, Largemouth Bass, White Crappy, and Longnose Gar.

Additionally, the waters of the Coosa provide vital drinking water and forested freshwater

beaches for Alabama’s famous hunting game populations like Whitetail Deer and Eastern Turkey.

The Coosa Valley was heavily fought over during early European settlement in North

America. The valley was rich in agricultural potential due to the soil makeup in Alabama,

making Alabama land a demanded resource. The valley and its resources were also easily

accessed due to the mass interconnected waterways. In 1540, the Spanish fought and won access

to the land from Chief Tuskaloosa and Chief De Soto in the Battle of Maliba – now recognized

as “one of the bloodiest battles in North American history” (“History of the Coosa”). After this,

the Spanish and additional French settlers along the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers brought more

peaceful trade and negotiations with the Creek Indians, an alliance of several Native American

river chiefdoms from the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Chattahoochee valleys. In the 18th century,

steamboat travel brought the river to a new era of transportation until railroad transportation

replaced steamboat usage. Around the turn of the century, hydropower dams began to be

established on the Coosa as the age of electricity was developing. In 1953, Alabama Power was

approved for the creation of five dams that were built during the next decade along the river

Coosa. This was later joined with the addition of the Weiss Dam (1961), Logan Martin (1964),

and Neely Henry (1966) (“History of the Coosa”). The Coosa River is now ingrained in the

history of the people of Alabama and is a commemoration of the rich settler and industrialization

history of the area. All of these factors play a large part in the preservation and presentation of

the river today—both with its benefits and disadvantages.

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In 2022, the Coosa River was placed 5th among America’s most endangered rivers

because of the nearly one million pounds of toxic chemicals that are deposited into the Coosa

River each year (“Most Endangered Rivers”). Industries that are given direct access to waste

management by situating themselves on the beaches of the Coosa River, depositing their toxic

byproducts and sewage directly into the Coosa River, profit off of the rivers ability to carry

pollution away from its source and downstream towards other nonconsenting receivers. There are

many industries scattered across the watershed area that participate in this. Industries like the

National Cement Company in Ragland, Lhoist North American in Calera, two Koch Chicken

Processing plants in Gadsden, Gaston Steam Plant in Wilsonville, and Resolute Forest Products

Coosa Pines paper mill in Childersburg all contribute to the reported pollutant concentrations of

unfiltered sewage, cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens), and other developmental and

reproductive toxins. In 2015, the Gaston Steam Plant was placed as the largest discharger, and

the Resolute Forest Products Coosa Pines paper mill was placed as the second largest discharger

of cancer-causing chemicals and reproductive toxins (“Here’s Whose Been Dumping Toxic

Waste”).

Additionally, 43.6% of Alabama’s population is considered rural. Many rural

communities do not have access to proper healthcare or hospitals and the rates of patients are

significantly higher for hospitals serving rural areas than for those serving urban areas (Alabama

Public Health). The industries that have been identified as primary pollutants to the Coosa River

are situated in small communities outside of large urban centers like Birmingham. These

locations often have demographic similarities like having a proportionally lower average income

level and a disproportionate number of residents below the poverty line or among minority ethnic

groups (Environmental Integrity Project). Due to the placement of the river and its downstream
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influence on central Alabama’s communities, many of the events and problems on the Coosa

River are problems directly tied to the citizens of the Black Belt because pollutants are

introduced in these small communities or upstream and are deposited in these Black Belt

communities. This situation brings to light how there is a lot more going on in our local waters

than first meets the eye and calls for a deeper analysis of the cultural, social, and rhetorical

implications of this pollution crisis.

Ecological Framework

The idea of the downstream river ecology lends analysis to the interconnectedness of the

waterways and how the framework that a river is a part of creates a larger institution. For

instance, rivers lack definability. They have no real beginning or end. We simply mark their

origin and their termination based on our constructed geographical markers at the intersections or

divisions of waterways, but the water carried through these marked paths are only recirculations

of the same molecules that once introduced will continually filter through the water cycle. This

also means that the larger institution that makes up the waterways and the recirculation of

interacting molecules prohibits issues or disturbances to the water’s make-up from being kept

separate or isolated. Everything has a ripple effect. A cause creates effects that circulate

throughout the river and beyond into the very water cycle that creates rains and floods.

Subsequently, when something happens to the contents of a river, the effects are felt not only

around the origin but also carried downstream, rippling out from the source—no events can be

isolated. Consequences are both in the moment, downstream, and locatable but spreading

constantly to new locations. The nature of water is contrary to our idea of a waterway, which is a

construct to separate and distinguish one area of geography from another while the water
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contained in it inherently connects it to the rest of the living, ecological world. Speaking of

ecology, rhetoric mimics the complex and ever-changing nature of rivers.

In her article, Jenny Edbauer introduces the idea that rhetoric and the emergence of new

ideas cannot be isolated from one another and instead, once introduced, ecologies circulate texts

from one audience to another. She moves rhetorical ecologies away from the direct sender-

receiver models and instead focuses it on instances of emergence that ripple through situations.

This brings rhetorical ecology towards the interconnectedness of waterways whose molecules

instantly disperse into the network of entangled streams. When pollution is introduced to this

system, the river then circulates the problems throughout the networked shores in the same way

that rhetoric begins to circulate affect throughout its different audiences when a piece of rhetoric

is introduced (Edbauer). Continuing this idea of interconnectedness, Rivers and Weber added that

rhetoric brings flux and waves to not only connected frameworks but also unstable environments

like that within the boundaries of a river. The only resemblance of a boundary to a river are the

banks that erode and carve out new paths over millions of years of carrying and regulating the

powerful force of water pressure. However, when force is applied in concentrated amount—like

floods—erosion can change the entire path of a river in a day. Rhetorical ecologies are hard to

define or to place boundaries on. They often sit stagnant and are unable to make change until

someone brings drastic power to the framework to help erode and change the course of history.

The ecological gives us tools to stay with that flux, even if it is never quite stable or predictable.

For rhetoric to be ecological, it must be connected to the rhetorical environment and unconfined

by concrete barriers (like how a moving river operates) but open to occasional rapid change (like

those in a flood).
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Additionally, Danielle Endres’s research discusses the “more-than-human” implications

of the industrialization of mankind. Touching on the idea of non-western ideologies, Endres

shows how modern-day Americans have developed a distinction between nature and human

society. Endres discusses rhetoric’s ability to designate “wastelands” and how this intervention

has prompted the areas to become their namesakes, but this action causes more than just a label

and begins to dictate how humanity interacts with nature—further separating the connection of

human actors and nonhuman actors. When actors on the riverways like industrial polluters

separate themselves too much from their connection to the natural actor—in this case, the river—

they no longer feel the responsibility to maintain and grow the integrity of the river itself.

Alternatively, Druschke and Rai bring in the opposing idea of what happens when natural and

human actors like rivers and industry are assembled to the point of blending, usually to the harm

of the natural actors involved. The blending of industries and local communities brings a reliance

on polluters based on the economic advantages brought by profits and employment

opportunities. This then makes it difficult to separate the industry from its place on the waterway

or its entitlement to the rivers use as a deposit for waste. This contrary idea resembles the

diadromous nature of river ecology as introduced by Druschke and Rai lends to the evolution

that the river has experienced not only in its fish population but its historical use from watering a

valley and transportation to power generation. Rivers combine with industries as they connect

human civilization to important infrastructure needs like access to sewage, drinking water, and

power generation. However, using these resources brings harm to the river as it pollutes the

water, but after polluting, it cannot be separated again. The rivers then become the vessel for

caring harmful manmade actors toward communities that may be far from the source.
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Drawing direct connections to the river as the model for filtering rhetorical actions relies

on the authors mentioned above. The ecology that my research is developing helps support a

framework based on sustainable organizations like The Coosa River Keeper, pollution reports

published by the EPA, and grassroots signage like fish consumption advisories that create

discourse in response to the crisis on the rivers that these upstream pollutants are causing to

downstream communities. This rhetorical ecology will eventually lend to its own capacity to

promote environmental justice and move communities towards change.

Presentation of Findings and Data

The Publicized Problem

The Coosa River has been issued many fish consumption advisories. These advisories

warn that fish populations are testing positive for high concentrations of PCBs and Mercury in

the edible flesh of the fish. Consuming these contaminated fish is toxic and incredibly harmful.

Locals of Black Belt communities that surround the Coosa River report that they have stopped

eating anything they catch off the river due to fear of waterborne illness and poisonous materials

(“Are the fish you catch safe to eat”). The accumulation of these hazardous materials is due to

the toxic chemicals discharged by industries on the water upriver. Currently, there are about 216

fish consumption advisors on the waterways across the state of Alabama, and 22 of these are for

the Coosa River Watershed. Signage has been posted in some areas to indicate to the residents

the current advisories, like the one below:

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Image 2 (“Are the fish you catch safe to eat”)

However, there is no state agency that is required by law to test fish tissue or post signage to

communicate to locals the existence of advisories even if they are long term or indefinite.

Additionally, approximately 67% of the advisories specifically include Largemouth Bass, which

is Alabama’s most famous and sought after game fish and the official state freshwater fish of

Alabama (“Are the fish you catch safe to eat”).

PCBs and Mercury

PCB stands for Polychlorinated Biphenyls and can appear as an oily or waxy tasteless

and scentless compound. They were manufactured commercially in the United States for 5

decades between 1929 and 1979, when their production was banned by the Toxic Substances

Control Act. However, the production of PCB as an inadvertent byproduct is still allowed under

federal law. PCBs were used during commercial production for products like transformers,

capacitors, electrical equipment, fluorescent light bulbs, adhesives, oil-based paint, caulking, and

plastics. Today, PCBs are know as “forever chemical” compounds because they do not easily or

quickly break down in the environment, often remaining for long periods of time cycling

between air, water, and soil, and seep into the environment through illegal dumping of PCB

waste, burning of wastes in incinerators, and poorly maintained hazardous waste sites. PCBS are
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known for accumulating in plants and food crops as well as the bodies of small organisms like

fish. This accumulation often transfers the PCB to humans who experience adverse health

effects. There are studies being conducted on the potential carcinogenic potential of PCB and

past research linking them to the development of cancer and other effects like ones on the

immune system, reproductive system, and nervous systems in animals. Studies of reproductive

health have shown that children born to women who worked in factories that produced PCBs had

decreased birth weights and gestational age (Environmental Protection Agency).

Mercury differs in its toxicity depending on its form, but all have adverse effects on the

nervous, digestive, and immune systems. Mercury can be presented elementally—as a metal—

inorganically, and organically. Methylmercury, mercury’s organic form, is very toxic to humans

and is the same form as most industries dump into the water and is most commonly exposed to

humans through the consuming of contaminated fish. Mercury also has the potential to be

specifically harmful to children in utero like seen in PCBs. Mercury is considered one of the top

ten chemicals of major public health concerns (World Health Organization).

Mercury and PCBs present the most concern to public health organizations like the Coosa

River Keeper and the Environmental Protection Agency. Their presence in fish populations

brings a dire health risk to those exposed—in this case, the communities in the Black Belt.

A Close up of the Coosa River Communities: Childersburg

Childersburg sits along the Coosa River just downstream from Lake Logan Martin and

just upstream from Lay Lake. Lake Logan Martin currently has substantial fish consumption

advisories present for the existence of PCBs, a known carcinogen, in the fish populations. The

advisory says that the local population should completely avoid eating many of the lake’s

popular game like striped bass and advises a limited consumption of blue and channel catfish as
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well as largemouth bass. Lay Lake also currently has fish consumption advisories present but to

a slightly lesser extent with an advisory for significantly limiting consumption of blue and

channel catfish and largemouth and striped bass (“Fish Consumption Advisories”). Additionally,

Childersburg is home to the Resolute Forest Products Coosa Pines paper mill, which is the

second largest discharger of cancer-causing chemicals and reproductive toxins on the Coosa

River (“Here’s Whose Been Dumping Toxic Waste”).

Childersburg has a population of 4,768 people total. The median household income in the

town is $37,043. The demographic makeup slightly favors the White population at 54.1%

compared to the Black population of 40.9% (“Childersburg, AL”).

The Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) releases a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) each

year to track on-site chemical and toxic releases. The Resolute Forest Products Coosa Pines

paper mill reported 903,228 lbs. of toxic substance released on-site and 35,798 lbs. of on-site

water releases in 2022 (“TRI Toxics Tracker”). See the breakdown of the total deposits by

chemical below:

Image 3 (“TRI Toxics Tracker”)

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This shows that the Resolute Products paper mill primarily deposited Methanol from the on-site

location in Childersburg, but it also tested for high levels of Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, and

Manganese compounds (“TRI Toxics Tracker”).

Additionally, the EPA separates specific forms of waste removal and designates the on-

site water releases on the TRI. Below is the breakdown of the on-site water releases:

Figure 4 (“TRI Toxics Tracker”)

This graph identifies Manganese and manganese compounds as the primary toxic material being

deposited directing into the waters in Childersburg. Further data from the TRI reported that total

on-site Manganese compounds made up 55,398 lbs. of the total 903,228 lbs. This was the fourth

most reported toxin at this site following behind Hydrogen sulfide (88,105 lbs.), Ammonia

(91,512 lbs.), and Menthol (545,562 lbs.). All of the chemicals listed on the TRI are toxic and are

linked to specific developmental, neurological, or reproductive adverse health effects (“TRI

Toxics Tracker”).

In total, the TRI tracks and reports on over 16 different toxic chemicals released from the

Resolute Forest Products Coosa Pines paper mill that made up the 903,228 lbs. of toxic

chemicals. They list the leading pollutant as Methanol which is a developmental, hepatic, and
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neurological toxin. They also list lead as a discharged material but in a smaller quantity—

although its potency is higher than other toxic materials—at 1,930 lbs. (“TRI Toxics Tracker”).

Discussion of Findings

The Coosa River is hindered by pollutants that are being deposited from local industries

in the communities on the shoreline that expose the local and downstream inhabitants to toxic

materials. These toxic materials once introduced cost millions to filter out and clean up. The

biological effects of the toxins that are being introduced should not be taken lightly either and

have drastic and dramatic—one could say “dramastic”—effects on populations exposed. A

proper level of concern should be prompted when considering the societal threat that comes with

applying these adverse effects to generations of individuals on the Coosa River. The

communities downstream are best characterized by the inhabitants of the Black Belt who are

frequently disadvantaged with the opportunity to speak out against these issues due to income or

racial disparities. These issues become systemic when applied to the river because waste

deposited into the waterways becomes inherently connected to situation and institution that

makes-up the local biological diversity. Apply these toxins to the next couple generations and

society could face.

Additionally, these companies provide employment and resources that bring profit and

bring economic wellbeing to the locations they are situated in. So, their involvement with the

river has become assembled together to create a structure that is hard to dismantle. However,

when they are dismantled or attempted to be dismantled, the communities are often harmed due

to the loss of an economic stimulant and then have the potential to feel disconnected from the

natural actor that they are saving because it levied large social costs. Continuing Endres and

Druschke and Rai’s research, we must learn to find a balance between the assemblage and
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complete distinction between human and nature, industry and river, if we want to create a future

that preserves the wellbeing of both.

Conclusion and Looking Ahead

Ultimately, my research on the pollution affecting the Coosa River is a small part of a

much larger interconnected web of discourse. I hope that this research will begin to shed light on

the importance of our waterways and allow people to reconsider the beauty that our rivers bring

to the places we call home. No matter what part of the world you are in, water is evidence of

flourishing life and historically one of the most sought-after resources. Alabama teems with

diversity and a thriving ecology because of its rivers. Many cities in Alabama that bring life to

the rural landscape were placed on the map and sustained by the rivers they are situated besides.

Thus, it is our responsibility to do everything that we can to ensure their continued well-being

and preserve their natural beauty.

The first step to carrying this responsibility is to enter the discussion and provide the

“engaged scholarship” that is at the root of all good movements (Raphael). In his research,

Raphael’s focus on engaged scholarship and amplifying the voices of those who are

disproportionately affected brings in the idea that we must connect communities with scholarship

to move them towards environmental justice—and towards carrying on the burden that

accompanies the knowledge of problems like the one presented in this paper.

The next step in this endeavor is to reach the communities affected by these industrial

pollutants like the residents of Childersburg. One example of this endeavor can be found in

Appendix 1: Document Ecology. Ecologies like the example I created would characterize the

local grassroots action that is needed to achieve any kind of environmental justice as defined by

Rapheal through engagement and education of the problem at hand and can serve as the “training
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ground” for practicing activists to get their feet wet, both literally and figurately, in the field of

water ecology and sustainability (Rivers and Weber).

In the meantime, we continue, as Haraway put it, to “stay with the trouble” and carry our

burden of knowledge as it acts in our lives in the small expressions of individual agency.

However, one should never discount the ability of small actors to contribute to big causes. Ants

may be small, but they create massive anthills by contributing only a grain of sand at a time.

Water erodes over the passage of time carrying away only one piece of sediment at a time. Once

introduced, something as small as a drop of water becomes inseparable from the river and carries

its agency and affects downstream towards new encounters. This is the same movement that we

can make in our actions every day.

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References

Alabama Public Health. “Access to Healthcare Poses a Challenge in Rural Alabama.” Rural

Health. 24 January 2024. https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/ruralhealth/at-a-

glance.html#:~:text=Access%20to%20Healthcare%20Poses%20a%20Challenge%20in

%20Rural%20Alabama&text=Seven%20rural%20Alabama%20counties%20do,provide

%20labor%20and%20delivery%20service. Accessed 27 February 2024.

“Are the fish you catch safe to eat and feed to your families?” Coosa Riverkeeper.

https://coosariver.org/fishadvisories2023/. Accessed on 27 February 2024.

“Childersburg, AL.” Data USA. Accessed on 23 April 2024 at

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/childersburg-al#:~:text=The%205%20largest%20ethnic

%20groups,%2DHispanic)%20(0.965%25).

“Coosa River Basin.” Alabama.gov. 5 July 2023.

https://adem.alabama.gov/trashfreewaters/pdfs/CoosaRiverBasin.pdf. Accessed on 27

February 2024.

“Coosa River Named Among America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2022.” American Rivers. 18

April 2022. https://www.americanrivers.org/media-item/coosa-river-named-among-

americas-most-endangered-rivers-of-2022/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20unfortunate

%20intersection%20of%20heavy,Justinn%20Overton%2C%20Coosa%20Riverkeeper

%20and. Accessed on 27 February 2024.

“Coosa River.” Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Coosa-River. Accessed on 27

February 2024.

Druschke, Caroline and Candice Rae. “Making Worlds with Cyborg Fish.” Tracing Rhetoric and

Material Life. Part III, Chapter 8. 2018. Ed. Bridie McGreavy, Justine Wells,
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George F. McHendry Jr. and Samantha Senda-Cook. Switzerland; Springer International

Publishing AG Cham.

Edbauer, Jenny. “Unframing models of public distribution: From rhetorical situation to rhetorical

situation to rhetorical ecologies.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 4, pages 5-24,

DOI: 10.1080/02773940509391320.

Endres, Danielle. “The Most Nuclear-Bombed Place: Ecological Implications of the US Nuclear

Testing Program.” Tracing Rhetoric and Material Life. Part IV, Chapter 10. 2018. Ed.

Bridie McGreavy, Justine Wells, George F. McHendry Jr. and Samantha Senda-Cook.

Switzerland; Springer International Publishing AG Cham.

Environmental Integrity Project. “Water Pollution from Slaughterhouses.” Prairie Rivers. 11

October 2018. https://prairierivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Slaughterhouse-

report-10.11.18.pdf. Accessed on 27 February 2024.

Environmental Protection Agency. “Learn about Polychlorinated Biphenyls.” Accessed on 1

March 2024. https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls#a1.

Haraway, Donna J. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University

Press: Durham and London, 2016, pgs. 1-8.

“Here’s Whose Been Dumping Toxic Waste in the Coosa.” Coosa Riverkeeper.

https://coosariver.org/heres-whose-been-dumping-toxic-waste-in-the-coosa/). Accessed

on 27 February 2024.

“History of the Coosa.” Coosa Riverkeeper. https://coosariver.org/river/history/. Accessed on 27

February 2024.
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Raphael, Chad. “Engaged Communication Scholarship for Environmental Justice: A Research

Agenda,” Environmental Communication, 13:8, 1087-1107, July 2019.

DOI:10.1080/17524032.2019.1591478.

Rivers, Nathaniel A., and Ryan P. Weber. “Ecological, Pedagogical, Public Rhetoric.” College

Composition and Communication, vol. 63, no. 2, Dec. 2011, pp. 187–218.

“TRI Toxics Tracker.” Environmental Protection Agency, 2022. Accessed on 23 April 2024 at

https://edap.epa.gov/public/extensions/TRIToxicsTracker/TRIToxicsTracker.html#.

World Health Organization. “Mercury and Health.” 31 March 2017. Accessed on 1 March 2024.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mercury-and-health.
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Appendix 1: Document Ecology

Preface

This document ecology is constructed in a way to provide multiple documents and forms

of rhetoric to engage with the public each in unique ways but ultimately as the framework to

begin activists work and engage the local communities. This document ecology is made up of

multiple elements, including prompts for an art and essay contest, two flyers for each respective

contest, the link to the submission survey conducted through Qualtrics, an advertisement calling

for contest submissions for the contests, and an example of a submission for the art contest. The

setting for this document ecology would be implementation in the Childersburg area in response

to the Resolute Forest Products Coosa Pines paper mill’s presence and continued contamination

of the waterways surrounding it.

This positions the populations in Shelby, Talladega, and St. Clair Counties as the primary

target for the Friends of Coosa River efforts. The Friends of Coosa River in Alabama are an

activist group that I am founding who looks to clean up the Coosa River Watershed in Central

Alabama and preserve the future of our waterways for the enjoyment and health of future

generations.

The submission survey contains the essay and art contest prompts and some preliminary

information on the efforts and intentions for the Friends of Coosa River in Alabama. This brings

students’ attention to the pollution issues that are developing in their local areas. The prompts

and contest submissions then ask them to engage with these ideas and produce material that

responds and looks to the future of the conservation and sustainability efforts on the Coosa River

in their areas. I have also included the full prompts below in a format that could be added to a
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website to preface the submission portal or provide more advertisement. Feel free to enter

generic material into the submission form so that you can view the form in its entirety.

The flyers are designed to advertise the essay and art contests in the primary context of

distributing and advertising the material in classroom settings in the city and county schools in

Talladega, Shelby, and St. Clair County.

The Daily Home Sylacauga News is a local newspaper for the Talladega County and

Shelby Country area (“Directory of US Newspapers”). The advertisement included below would

be an example of an ad that could be published in this newspaper to spread the news about the

contest to the local communities. This would extend the reach towards parents of students who

can submit an entry. Looking to the future, newspaper advertisements would be an assessable

way to spread the word about a volunteer event or promote donations for an event.

These documents focus on the art/essay contest aspects of a potential new organization

called the Friends of Coosa River in Alabama and their efforts towards raising awareness and

amplifying local voices. Currently, these documents outline the framework for the essay and art

contest. In the future, these contests would be included as a part of a larger event that supports

sustainability efforts on the Coosa River in Childersburg, Alabama. This event would be an

organized, volunteer opportunity where volunteers learn about the pollutants present in

Childersburg and Gadsden, Alabama, which contribute to the pollution in Lay Lake and Lake

Logan Martin, and volunteers will learn to conduct and interpret water test kits that test for the

presence of toxic chemicals like PCBs, mercury, and other toxins. The first art/essay contest

awards ceremony will be conducted in December of 2024 and the first volunteer event will aim

to be scheduled for March of 2026. This will allow the organization to establish itself in the local

communities and begin organizing the volunteer event.

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Art/Essay Contest Flyers

Qualtrics form for submissions

Link to submission form: https://auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9H0RW69BbBtQHEW.

Below are some screenshots of important aspects of the submission collection survey (I have left

out the screenshots with the prompts as they are repetitive):

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The Coosa River Art and Essay Contests

Students who are residents of Talladega, Shelby, and St. Clair Counties and are in 6th-12th grade

are eligible to submit their work for the Coosa River Art and Essay Contest. Students may submit

to one or both contests for review. Winners will be divided into junior high and high school

categories with an overall winner. Submissions should be received electronically through this

Qualtrics form no later than 11:59pm on October 31st, 2024. Students who submit to this contest

should respond to the following prompts:

The Coosa River Art Contest Prompt:

The Coosa River is home to an incredibly diverse ecosystem that encompasses many beautiful

landscapes and interesting wildlife. It is also the home to many polluting industries that are

eroding the natural wildlife populations. The task for the Coosa River Art contest is to create a
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piece of 2-diminesional artwork, no larger than 3 ft by 3ft (mediums can include but are not

limited to oil, watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and pen) that embodies the importance or beauty of the

Coosa River and why it is important to preserve the integrity of the waterways. Your artwork

should focus on your perspective of what the Coosa River looks like and how its beauty is

important to preserve. We recommend that your artwork focus on a specific landscape or wildlife

subject. The subject or landscape should represent the heart of the river and how people see or

interact with the Coosa waterways in Central Alabama. You can ask yourself questions like the

following. How do you see the river embodied in physical expressions and interactions? What

wildlife do you associate with the Coosa River’s biological ecology and how do you place these

subjects in the context of the river as a setting and context for flourishing wildlife? How do you

see the resilience of the Coosa River in the face of industry pollution?

The Coosa River Essay Contest Prompt:

Students should compose an essay that is no longer than 1,000 words and respond to the

following prompt (citations are not necessary but should be included if applicable, citation style

will be judged on consistency of citation style):

The Coosa River, in addition to its innate beauty, has been a location for industry growth

over the last two hundred years. This industry had the potential to bring economic prosperity to

the region, but it also brought the introduction of major pollutants as byproducts of the growing

industry. These pollutants are very present in the Talladega, Shelby, and St. Clair counties and

continue to harm local fish and wildlife populations as well as filter toxic chemicals and

carcinogens into local drinking waters. Your task for this essay is to reflect on your position in

the Coosa River watershed area and how you see the pollution from local industries affecting the

function of your life and society? What place do these industries have in the larger ecology of the
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river and how do these industries place themselves in the waterways and within the Southern

United States or potentially within the Black Belt region? How do you see sustainability efforts

in your society or sustainable habits in yourself or others in everyday life and how does the

concept of sustainability contribute to the response to these pollutants?

Newspaper Advertisement for The Daily Home Sylacauga News

Seeking Submission for Essay and Art Contest

Are you an artist or a writer passionate about sustainability and environmental

preservation? The Friends of Coosa River in Alabama are seeking submissions for the Coosa

River Art and Essay Contest. The goal of the contest is to promote student engagement with

sustainability efforts on the Coosa River in Central Alabama. The Coosa River is a vital

component of Central Alabama’s diverse ecosystem. The Coosa River Art Contest asks students

to create a piece of 2-dimensional artwork no larger than 3ft by 3ft that captures the beauty and

importance of the Coosa River. The Coosa River Essay Contest asks students to compose a short

1,000-word essay on the nature of sustainability in Central Alabama and how it has impacted

them. For the full prompts, see the link below.

Submissions should be from students grades 6th through 12th who reside in Talladega,

Shelby, or St. Clair Counties, Alabama. Students are eligible to submit to either or both art and

essay contests by October 31st, 2024. Winners will be recognized at a social gathering hosted by

the Friends of Coosa River in Alabama in December 2024 in Childersburg, Alabama, and

awarded a cash prize. This event will celebrate the impact and beauty of the Coosa River and

look towards future efforts for its conservation. Submissions should be entered online no later

than October 31st, 2024 on the Friends of Coosa River in Alabama’s website.
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Sample Art Contest Submission

Image 1: Sample Art Contest Submission

This painting was submitted to the Friends of Lake Eufaula Art Contest and placed on the

back of the volunteer t-shirt for the Eufaula Lake Clean-up event sponsored by Alabama Power.

This picture interacted with Lake Eufaula because it depicts a largemouth bass, one of Eufaula’s

leading game fish, and a fish lure, representing Eufaula’s large industry of game fishing and its

connection with fishing pioneers like Tom Mann. I have included this as an example piece of

artwork for the contest to represent the way that students are able to engage with their

perspective of the river’s ecology and the importance of the local wildlife.
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References

“Directory of U.S. Newspaper in American Libraries” Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/sn88050234/. Accessed on 3 April 2024.