discharge from metropolitan Mobile. However, Gallagher (1969) also concluded 

 that even if the Mobile effluent was entirely eliminated, sources upstream 

 would probably raise bacterial levels above closure criterion levels. 

 Closures of oyster reefs to harvesting has increased since 1950 and the 

 periods of closure are longer. At present over 26,000 acres are permanently 

 closed in northern Mobile Bay for harvesting of oysters. The sanitary water 

 quality standards for oyster harvesting is exceeded most frequently during 

 the winter and spring months when the Mobile River has high flows. These 

 periods of high flows are also the periods of lowest salinity in Mobile Bay. 

 Because in Mobile Bay the most important factor influencing salinities is the 

 Mobile River, there is apparently a direct, though imprecise, relationship 

 between high bacterial counts in Mobile Bay and high flow rates of the Mobile 

 River. In effect, although other streams such as the Bon Secour, Deer, Fish, 

 Fowl, and Dog Rivers are contributing to organic waste loads in Mobile Bay 

 (Table 46), the Mobile River seems to be the primary source of bacterial 

 pollution, except in highly localized areas (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

 1983). 



Water use classification areas in Mobile Bay are shown on the atlas 

 sheets. The areas delineated on the sheets indicate that water quality is 

 lower in the northern and northeastern portions of the bay. 



During periods of low dissolved oxygen, a phenomena known locally as 

 "jubilees" may occasionally occur in Mobile Bay. During jubilees dermesal 

 animals such as flounders and blue crabs are driven from the deeper parts of 

 the bay to more shallow areas shoreward where they remain for several minutes 

 or hours and provide a bountiful seafood harvest for those lucky enough to be 

 in the area (Chermock 1974). The exact conditions causing jubilees are 

 apparently quite complex, but they occur during the summer usually in the 

 early morning. It should be noted that jubilees are naturally occurring 

 phenomena, since the first recorded occurrence was in 1867, before any major 

 human modifications to the bay occurred. 



Perdido River Basin . Hollingers Creek (Bay Minette quadrangle), a 

 tributary of the Perdido River, receives most of the city of Bay Minette's 

 treated sewer wastes. Due to the low flows at some times of the year these 

 wastes may make up over 90% of the stream's total flow. Low dissolved oxygen 

 levels and high BOD (Table 46) are indicative of the poor water quality. 



The Perdido River/Perdido Bay contribute large amounts of oxygen-demanding 

 materials to the study area. This loading is primarily attributed to a 

 single point source located at Cantonment, Florida. This same source also 

 contributes to the esthetic degradation of the water by distributing 

 unsightly foam and scum. The WFRPC (West Florida Regional Planning 

 Commission) 208 reported that the Perdido River had depressed dissolved 

 oxygen concentrations for more than 51% of the data reviewed. They also 

 reported that both the Perdido River and Bay showed high nutrient values for 

 a like percentage of the data considered (SARPC 1979). 



Escatawpa River Basin . The Escatawpa River has very good-quality water. 

 A reservoir on" BTg Creek (Mobile quadrangle), one of the Escatawpa 

 tributaries, furnishes water for the city of Mobile. As indicated in Table 



166 



