FOLEY – The city of Foley will be working with Baldwin County to remove material slowing drainage in the Magnolia River basin.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the city will be working to clear the stream moving south from the bridge near Pine Rest Cemetery. Hurricane Sally left debris clogging many area waterways when the storm struck South Baldwin County in 2020.

“We’re going to be working from the bridge just down to about Plantation Hills,” Hellmich said. “This area has a lot of storm debris in it from Sally and has caused some problems.”

He said Baldwin County officials are also working to clear the Magnolia River basin in areas outside the Foley city limits.

“They bought property on the south side and are doing a project similar to what we did on the Bon Secour River, creating an area where floodwaters can go there rather than downstream,” Hellmich said.

He said the county project will reduce the work that Foley will have to perform.

“It’s helping us out,” Hellmich said. “We’re working jointly with them to clean that out.”

Once the material is cleared, the basin can be designed as a managed stream by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the waterway is clogged by debris after a future storm, the city can receive federal funding to remove the material.

Foley has also removed material from the Bon Secour River and other areas, Hellmich said. 

Foley began working in 2023 to clear debris and improve drainage along the Bon Secour River in the city. Some of the debris cleared from the drainage area had washed into the river after Hurricane Sally struck the Gulf Coast.