Who We Are
The Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association is a not-for-profit organization that believes in promoting the economic and social value of our inland waterways and reservoirs. We believe it is possible to have economic growth and still protect the vital ecological health of our waterways. This belief has evolved from many years of promoting the development of reservoirs and the ancillary benefits that accrue from those essential bodies of water, including navigation, flood control, recreation, water supply, and hydropower. Where would our society be without those vital functions?
It is possible to reap the benefits of those functions while protecting the ecological health of our basin watersheds. We can have both growth and environmental health. We can ship commerce on our inland waterways without irreparably damaging the environment. We can attempt to control the damage of floods without extensive harm to the natural processes. We can manage our reservoirs to provide recreation for our people, water for our communities and industry, and renewable hydropower for the benefit of all without ripping the fabric of our economic and sociologic infrastructure.
Have reservoirs modified the environment? Most certainly, but the environment will adapt to changes as it has for millions of years. Those changes have begotten problems, which we will not solve overnight or through drastic, extreme measures. And we must be prepared to accept certain costs. The key is to engineer the changes with reason based upon the vast amount of knowledge we are gaining every day and a comprehensive evaluation of the practicality of any action affecting a waterway.
A balanced and reasonable approach to developing
our waterways and protecting our environment - that is what the
Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association believes will be of
greatest benefit to society.
Our membership consists of local government
agencies, large and small businesses, lake associations, and individuals
who support efforts to maintain and improve federal, state, local,
and private waterway projects that enhance the quality of life
for the citizens of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin.
We have annual dues based on categories of membership and ability
to pay. For those dues, our members receive several benefits and
services in line with our mission and goals.
Benefits of being a member of CARIA:
CARIA will provide: