WaterWorks Center for Environmental Education was founded in 2010 by Alabama’s Mountains, Rivers and Valleys Resource Conservation and Development Council (AMRV RC&D), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving eight counties in North Alabama.

The center is located on the site of Hartselle’s original drinking water treatment plant, which first opened in 1941 and provided clean water to the community for over 50 years. Due to increasing levels of nonpoint source pollution in Flint Creek—particularly from agricultural and urban runoff—the plant ceased operations in 1993. In a move to support future educational use, Hartselle Utilities sold the retired facility to AMRV RC&D in the 1990s for just $10.

Rather than letting the structure go to waste, AMRV RC&D envisioned a bold transformation: repurposing the former water plant into a hands-on environmental education center. In 2010, that vision took root with the support of a $400,000 EPA Section 319 grant, administered by Morgan County Soil and Water. The former treatment basins were converted into constructed wetlands—natural filtration systems that use native plants, gravel, and soil to clean water. Today, water from Flint Creek is pumped through these treatment cells and freshwater aquariums, then returned to the creek cleaner than when it entered.

WaterWorks officially opened in 2011 and began hosting its first student field trips. In the years since, thousands of students have visited to learn about wetlands, pollution, water quality, and green infrastructure through immersive, place-based science education.

A new chapter began in July 2024 with the hiring of the organization’s first full-time Director. Since then, WaterWorks has rapidly expanded its programming and community outreach. New initiatives include homeschool science classes, forestry and agriculture career exploration for teens, and inclusive field trip opportunities for students with disabilities. The site is also undergoing infrastructure improvements, including restoration of wetland treatment cells and the installation of a native Alabama pitcher plant bog.

WaterWorks now serves as a regional hub for environmental stewardship, offering Friday Night Science workshops for adults, Alabama Water Watch certification trainings, merit badge classes, and large-scale volunteer opportunities—including an annual river cleanup in partnership with the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Additional programs for smaller Scout districts are growing, with a long-term goal of building environmental leadership from the ground up.

With innovation, restoration, and education at its core, WaterWorks is creating meaningful connections between people and the water they rely on—one creek, one classroom, and one community at a time.