About Big Creek Lake

• Big Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir that provides drinking water for approximately 350,000 MAWSS customers in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. This includes residents of the cities of Mobile, Spanish Fort, Chickasaw, Prichard, and Semmes, as well as a significant portion of Mobile-area industry, fire departments, schools, and hospitals.
• MAWSS wholly owns Big Creek Lake and its shoreline, which is rare for a public utility.
• The lake is the only source of drinking water for the 350,000 MAWSS customers.
• Due to Big Creek Lake’s abundant and clean water, water and sewer costs are significantly lower for MAWSS customers compared to other regional utilities.

Threat from Invasive Species

• Invasive species are statistically most likely to enter a body of water via transport from a boat that was in a different body of water.
• In 2021, Giant Salvinia, an invasive plant that doubles in size every three to five days, was detected in the reservoir.
• Following this discovery, MAWSS closed the lake and brought in outside experts to test water quality, treat the invasion, and reopen the lake for recreational use.
• In 2022, MAWSS conducted two additional studies of Big Creek Lake, determining that six invasive species are present and five more are pressing threats.
• The most damaging of these is the zebra mussel, an invasive mussel from Russia that has rapidly spread from the Great Lakes to as far south as Tuscaloosa.
• Zebra mussels multiply rapidly, blocking pumps, screens, pipes, and fire hydrants, which harms water quality and capacity while incurring millions of dollars in remediation and repair costs.
• According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, to adequately clean a boat after leaving zebra mussel-infested waters, power washing – either at home or at a self-service car wash, preferably with hot water – is required after draining. Additionally, any equipment that has come into contact with water (such as buckets, tie-downs, and anchors) should be cleaned with a dilute bleach solution. Further, one to two weeks of dry quarantine are generally recommended."
• MAWSS cannot guarantee that private boats will be cleaned effectively.
• In 2025, MAWSS determined the only effective way to prevent this danger was to close the lake to boating and other uses.
• Maps showing the spread of zebra mussels since their introduction from Russia are below, from the US Geological Survey:

Recreational Use

• Related to this area it is uncommon for a single water utility to wholly own and operate one single source of drinking water, as MAWSS does for Big Creek Lake.
• Based on usage data, fewer than 500 boaters used Big Creek Lake last year.  
• It has never been open for swimming.
• There have been no fishing tournaments on the lake in recent years, and high school fishing teams do not utilize it in an organized manner.

Enhanced Recreational Options

• MAWSS is initiating the process of securing a private entity to operate a recreational facility on the lake. This will include boat rental options, such as fishing boats and kayaks, as well as shore fishing areas and picnic and leisure spaces.
• With this plan, MAWSS intends to open up to an additional 1100 acres of the reservoir for fishing. This would increase the total area available for fishing to 1,800 acres, more than double the current 700 acres.
• MAWSS also intends to increase the number of days that the lake is open for recreational use from 3 days per week to 5 days per week. The next two days will be used for treating the water and controlling the existing invasive species.
• Because MAWSS cannot guarantee effective sanitation of private boats under government guidelines, the reservoir will remain closed to outside boats.
• This path forward has been successful, as evidenced by a similar reservoir in Birmingham, Lake Purdy. Lake Purdy is the secondary water source for the Birmingham Water Works and, like Big Creek Lake, is wholly owned by the utility.
• Because of this, the reservoir is closed to outside boating, but through their smart use of rental options, it remains a popular place for fishing, picnics, and recreation.
• In short, this plan increases recreation options for a larger area of the lake, on more days of the week, and provides a new option for people who don’t own boats.
• And by locating and partnering with a private entity that can manage this facility, they’ll have an incentive to make it successful.
• All in all, this new approach enables increased recreational activity while safeguarding the water supply for the 350,000 residents of Mobile and Baldwin County, as well as supporting our economic development, fire departments, schools, and hospitals.