The Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority (CPYRWMA) provided $3,400 to assist the City of Florala with construction of a bathroom facility at the state park for the purpose of improving and protecting water quality in Lake Jackson.

The funds were presented to Mayor Robert Williamson by Sen. Jimmy W. Holley, R-Elba, on Tues., June 26.

Also attending were Tim Wisham, who represented the State Parks Division of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, along with Harold Elmore who serves on the Board of Directors of the CPYRWMA representing Covington County.

Lake Jackson is home to numerous recreational visitors in addition to various marine and plant life. Water quality is being negatively impacted by human activities, which, combined with other contaminants, adversely impact various aspects of the water body.

An outdoor bathroom facility on the shores of the lake was required in order to reduce human violation of water quality and for the protection of marine and plant life in and near the lake.

The addition of this facility will address visitors’ needs while improving and protecting water quality in Lake Jackson.

This was a joint project with the City of Florala, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the CPYRWMA.

“We appreciate the opportunity to have participated in this important and beneficial project with the City of Florala and the State Parks Division to protect the water quality in this beautiful lake, which is an asset not only to Florala but the State of Alabama as well,” said Barbara Gibson, executive director of the CPYRWMA.

The Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority is a state agency created in 1991 by the Alabama Legislature.

It is responsible for managing 2.3 million acres in the watersheds of southeast Alabama in the areas of water quality, water quantity, flood control and prevention and water conservation education.