The Black Warrior River meanders alongside The University of Alabama’s campus and winds through its history. From The University’s early days, the Black Warrior has been an extension of campus hosting students engaged in recreation, athletics and learning.
The Black Warrior River also has the distinction of being the stormwater drainage destination for the UA campus. Anything that eludes the campus’s diligent grounds and facilities staff will make its way toward the river via the storm drains.
“UA operates as its own stormwater system separate from the city of Tuscaloosa. And so, the only body of water that we really discharge to is this little stretch of the river that runs along Jack Warner Parkway, adjacent to campus,” said B.J. Diltz, manager of the department of environmental health and safety at UA. The University’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is part of the Clean Water Act. It means generally that UA is responsible for what goes into the river from campus.
Keeping it Clean
In the middle decades of the last century, the river was notoriously polluted. “It is generally recognized that the Black Warrior River is a classic example of unrestricted use of a stream as a receiving body for the disposal of sewage and industrial wastes,” according to a 1967 master’s thesis from a UA civil engineering student.
That has changed, and the little section of the Black Warrior that belongs to UA is not on the state’s list of polluted waterways that require additional monitoring. “And we’d like to keep it that way,” said Diltz.
In 2022, the permit requirements were updated to include a public involvement component, and a litter clean-up day was the obvious choice. “Despite our best efforts, trash still ends up where we don’t want it,” Diltz said. Other campus groups target Manderson Landing for service projects over the year, but with the University continuing to grow, there is always a chance for students to step up and help take care of the campus environment.
The 2025 Campus Clean-up at Manderson Landing will happen Saturday, March 22, from 8 a.m. to noon. To join the Campus Clean-up, email wjdiltz@ua.edu to register.
The 2025 Campus Clean-up at Manderson Landing will happen Saturday, March 22, from 8 a.m. to noon. Staff from the environmental health and safety department will be there as guides for any volunteers who come out, and light refreshments will be provided. Diltz said many of his staff bring their children, and last year a Girl Scout troop came out to help.
Diltz says asking the public to volunteer along the Black Warrior River reminds students and the public that even simple actions make a difference. “UA is a big name, a big symbol across the entire state,” he said. “And we want to take care of it and protect it.”
Students and the Black Warrior Through the Years
A look through the Hoole Special Collections Library shows how the Black Warrior has been part of the UA experience across decades.
These photos below from the Natalie Thornton collection show a boat race for the male students, with the female “sponsors” of the race reclining on the river’s banks in the early 20th century.
Students still have the chance to have fun on the river with kayaks available through the student recreation center or the intramural crew club, which was founded in 1987. The UA women’s rowing team celebrated the opening of its facility at Manderson Landing in 2015, marking UA’s growing commitment to the sport.
Finally, the Black Warrior River has been an academic resource. It has been the site of thesis and doctoral research from the departments of geography, civil engineering, public relations, biology and others. Diltz accompanies Dr. Mary Pitts’ stormwater management class each year on a field trip across campus to discuss best management practices and how his department implements them on campus.
This Corolla yearbook page below from 1985 is a tribute to beloved outdoor education advocate and UA professor Dr. Doug Phillips, who still hosts the Discover Alabama series. Phillips made the Black Warrior River part of his classroom as he encouraged the state’s future educators to inspire wonder and a love of learning through nature.
