Mobile residents who swim, fish or recreate along the coast will again have regular, community-sourced water-quality information beginning Sept. 11, when Mobile Baykeeper relaunches its Swim Where It’s Monitored program under a new name and sponsor.
Program returns with local support
The organization announced the restart of the coastal monitoring program after pausing sampling in April because of funding shortages. The relaunch will operate as the CrowderGulf SWIM program following assistance from local partner CrowderGulf and community supporters.
Mobile Baykeeper’s executive director, William Strickland, said the program’s suspension demonstrated how much families and local businesses depended on the testing.
“When SWIM paused, our community let us know just how much they relied on it,”he said, adding that several local businesses stepped in to help restore operations.
How the program works and what it tests
Trained community volunteers will collect water samples at public swimming and recreation spots along the Alabama coast. Samples are analyzed in Mobile Baykeeper’s lab for indicator bacteria that can signal sewage contamination. Results are evaluated against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recreational water-quality standards.
The organization plans to publish testing results every Friday for the remainder of September and then move to a monthly posting schedule for the rest of the year. Results will be available on the Mobile Baykeeper website and via the Swim Guide app; subscribers will receive updates by email.
| Start date | September schedule | October–December schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11, 2026 | Results published weekly on Fridays | Results published monthly |
Volunteers and community support remain crucial
Strickland emphasized that while the relaunch pays staff to run the program, continued community involvement is needed to expand monitoring and identify pollution sources.
“There is still a need for our community to help,”he said, urging more sponsors and volunteers so the program can add sites and better track bacteria problem areas.
Volunteer roles include:
- Collecting water samples from designated public swimming and recreation areas
- Transporting samples to the Mobile Baykeeper laboratory
- Assisting with data entry and community outreach to share results
Mobile Baykeeper provided a contact email for those interested in joining or supporting the effort: info@mobilebaykeeper.org. The organization also noted that community-sponsored funding helped make staff positions possible after the program’s earlier pause.
Local implications
For Mobile’s coastal neighborhoods, the program’s return restores a routine source of information that residents and visitors have used to make decisions about swimming and other water activities. Businesses that rely on beachgoers and recreational users, including tour operators and waterfront restaurants, also benefit from having up-to-date water-quality data to inform customers and operations.
While the immediate relaunch addresses the gap left by the April suspension, officials with Mobile Baykeeper made clear that long-term sustainability will depend on continued financial and volunteer support from the community and local partners. The organization’s approach — combining trained volunteers with laboratory testing and public reporting — aims to keep monitoring community-centered while meeting federal benchmarks for recreational water safety.
Residents can find results and further information at the Mobile Baykeeper website and through the Swim Guide app, and may contact the group at the email address provided to volunteer or to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
