By Jacqueline Gray Miller
For many people in Birmingham, Village Creek and the late Dr. Mable Anderson are synonymous terms. Dr. Anderson was a formidable protector of the largest urban watershed in Alabama. Dr. Anderson was also an educator who would explain and share the importance of stormwater management and climate resilience. Today, Yohance Owens takes up the mantle bringing in partners like the National Wildlife Federation.
“Stormwater management is the effort aimed at reducing and channeling rainwater runoff or melted snow from urban areas, streets, lawns, and homes to improve water quality,” said Yohance Owens. Owens is the Village Creek Human and Environmental Justice Society, Inc., Executive Director. “Stormwater management also helps reverse the negative effects of urban and rural stormwater flooding caused by agriculture and human activities such as infrastructural constructions.”