TRIBUTARIES

 Upper Cahaba River Tributaries

Beaverdam Creek, Big Black Creek, Blue Outee Creek, Buck Creek, Haysop Creek, , Little Cahaba River (upper), , Sandy Creek, Shades Creek, Shoal Creek, Shultz Creek, Sixmile Creek, Waters Creek

Shades Creek
Shades Creek is 56.4 miles long. It begins near the Birmingham Dog track and joins the Cahaba at the Shelby-Bibb county line. Shades Creek runs through 6 urban communities: Irondale, Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover, and Bessemer. The Black Warrior/Cahaba River Land Trust has purchased property along Shades Creek for permanent conservation: 47 acres behind Wildwood Shopping Center and parcels near the Shannon community. There is currently a proposal to put a conservation easement on 33 acre’s in Homewood that serves as unique salamander habitat. This property is located adjacent to Homewood High School.

Shades Creek near Shannon

Little Cahaba River

Lower Cahaba River Tributaries

Affonee Creek, Blue Girth Creek, Little Cahaba River (lower), Childers Creek, Dry Creek, Little Oakmulgee Creek, Mahan Creek, Mill Creek, Oakmulgee Creek, Old Town Creek, Potato Patch Creek, Rice Creek, Wallace Creek, Walton Creek

The Affonee Creek tributary may derive its name from the Choctaw word for “bones,” nafoni. (Read) The entire creek lies in the southwest corner of Bibb County and joins the Cahaba right above the Perry County line.

Dry Creek is somewhat different from other tributaries on the Lower Cahaba in that is flows over the Selma Chalk of the Black Belt. This Selma Chalk is composed of calcium carbonate which dissolves readily in water. Streams in the Black Belt are also known for their low rates of recharge during dry periods. This tributary sits south of Marion. (O’neil)

Childers Creek sits just west of Selma and has a swamp like character. This tributary also flows through portions of the Selma Chalk.

According to a study conducted in 1997 Rice Creek suffers considerable water quality impairment due to nutrients, bacteria, and sediments. Possible sources of this impairment are discharges from the city of Marion’s waste water treatment plant, polluted urban run-off, and other sources.