SPANISH FORT, Ala. — More than 100 local residents and public officials Tuesday night received their first glance of the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan for the watersheds of D’Olive Creek, Tiawassee Creek and Joe’s Branch in Baldwin County.

The plan outlines detailed strategies for addressing sedimentation, creek-bank erosion, flooding and other issues associated with land-use changes and development in the Daphne, Spanish Fort and Malbis communities.

Since August 2009, Thompson Engineering has worked with a consortium of federal, state and local agencies as well as development and real-estate interests and property owners to draft a 10-year plan to address concerns. Public comments on the proposed plan will be accepted until July 29.

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and Thompson Engineering hosted Tuesday’s forum in the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center Tensaw Theater to highlight causes of the region’s current conditions while offering constructive suggestions for remediating damage and adopting policies that will minimize future harm.

Project Manager Glen Coffee, who noted this is his last project before retiring, called it “one of the most rewarding projects I could end my career on.”

Coffee, who said the plan’s total implementation costs could range from $20 million to $50 million, said resolution of the issues eroding the region’s natural resources and undermining the area’s ability to support its contributions to the second-fastest-growing county in the state, will require explicit cooperation from the cities of Daphne and Spanish Fort as well as the Baldwin County Commission.

See the rest of this story in the July 3 Daphne Bulletin.

Editor’s Note: Over the next four weeks, the Daphne Bulletin and its sister newspaper the Spanish Fort Sun will examine the proposed Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan in detail, exploring the intricacies responsible for creating the problem and tactics suggested for minimizing future deterioration.

Have questions you’d like addressed? Please contact reporter Kelli M. Dugan at 626-9300 or kdugan@gulfcoastnewspapers.com.