Dog River has been likened to a toilet bowl by some members of Dog River Clearwater Revival, a local environmental group that wants Mobilians to know about pollution and litter problems in the area’s only public access waterfront park.

On May 16, the group held its seventh annual Dog Paddle event to fund raise, spread awareness of the park’s condition and to have a good time with their canine pals. Neglected for some time by the greater Mobile community, either due to a lack of interest or in some cases a complete lack of knowledge of the park’s existence, the condition of the park on Dog River has slowly deteriorated.

Dan and Jody Meredith, residents of Mobile for four years, are typical in their limited knowledge of the park and its condition. Their first visit to Dog River Park was for the DRCR Dog Paddle event and they left with positive impressions about what DRCR is trying to accomplish.

The goals for DRCR are multifaceted. One goal, the main focus of the Dog Paddle event, was to simply raise awareness and increase use of the park.

Currently, most of the park’s visitors are boat owners and the group wants the community to understand that the park offers so much more. There is a covered deck where people can have picnics. There is a swing set for children – or those who are still kids at heart. There is a baseball field and basketball court, and of course, the river. However, the river sets off another group of concerns for DCDR.

Focus among members of the DRCR is on the whole Dog River Watershed, which spans through West Mobile, Springhill, Midtown, Tillman’s Corner, Theodore, and the Dauphin Island Parkway areas.

Bruce Coldsmith, President of DRCR, explains that the Watershed is 60 percent of the City of Mobile. “We are truly an urban watershed,” Coldsmith added.

Another goal DRCR has been working on for some time now is keeping the river clean and free of pollution. One main cause of much of Dog River’s pollution is general litter.

Most people don’t understand that whatever they throw out the window ends up in the river via storm drains, according to Claire Wilson of the DRCR. She says, the group is trying to alleviate this particular problem with their Storm Drain Marker Project, a volunteer project the whole community can participate in. It involves gluing 4-inch wide markers on storm drains to catch any litter before it ends up in the river or the bay. However, the group wants the community to realize that anything that goes down a sink drain also flows into the river and bay so they urge people to not dump any chemicals into their sinks.

Wilson noted that for more information on the Storm Drain Marker Project or to volunteer, people can send an email to j46miller@yahoo.com or call at 251-654-1827.

Walking through the park on Saturday, one could see children getting their face painted, people playing with their dogs, and a stand with a sign saying, “Please slow, manatees below.”

Dr. Ruth Carmichael, principle investigator for the Mobile Manatees Project at Dauphin Island Sea Lab was also in attendance at the Dog Paddle. She explains that Mobile and Dog River in particular has a manatee population and pollution increases the mortality rate for these friendly sea creatures. For more information on the Mobile Manatees Project, visit their website at manatee.disl.org or masgc.org.

As the sun reached its highest point in the sky, so did the aspirations of DRCR. The kayak and canoe races came to a close, Southern Current played live music for everyone to enjoy as they ate shrimp and shopped through a yard sale, Friends of the Mobile Animal Shelter put on a pet parade and everyone enjoyed a beautiful day out at the park. This day went better than many of the DRCR could have imagined, as they recorded a higher than expected outcome. They hope for many more and more frequently, said Claire Wilson.

Dog River Clearwater Revival will host the Dog River Run on June 6. For more information about the event, on DRCR’s efforts or to lend a helping hand, visit dogriver.org.