Spanish Fort, D'Olive Bay and Causeway bulkhead planning

Get to know your waterfront

Spanish Fort was incorporated on July 19, 1993. It counted 10,049 residents in 2020. The city grew from 1,542 acres to about 17,561. Its limits run west from the bluff across the whole Causeway corridor to roughly the county line, and Meaher State Park lies inside them. Named waters include the Blakeley and Apalachee rivers, Bay John, Justins Bay and Choccolatta Bay. The lower delta lies north of the road and upper Mobile Bay lies south of it.

Spanish Fort (Christopher Maloney, Auburn University; updated 2025-06-10) · TIGERweb Census 2020 layers (Incorporated Places / Census Designated Places), POP100 and HU100 fields · About Spanish Fort · TIGERweb Census Current (2026) Incorporated Places (layer 28) and Counties (layer 82), point-in-polygon and boundary queries · GNIS Domestic Names - Alabama (DomesticNames_AL.txt, file dated 2026-09-30)

Fill ground, shifting limits and a state office on the Causeway

Private bay-front lots south of the Causeway are few here. Most of this guide is about the Causeway, D'Olive Bay and the Daphne links, which carry more of the shoreline.

Which office handles which piece

Spanish Fort's limits are a patchwork of 33 pieces. A piece near the Causeway's east end, around latitude 30.655 to 30.665, belongs to Daphne. The D'Olive Bay water point, Big Island and Blakeley test outside any city, and the far west end of the road is Mobile County. Census boundary layers

The Spanish Fort Building Department is at 7361 Spanish Fort Boulevard.

The city's permit forms page lists no pier, dock or bulkhead application. City forms page Call the building department to learn how it handles one. Any site that disturbs 1,000 square feet or more needs a land disturbance permit first, with erosion and best-practice plans. City land disturbance rule

The Causeway is dredged fill

U.S. 90/98 across the bay opened in 1927. Open water and marsh were filled with dredged material for the roadbed. The road now blocks flow between the delta and the bay except at four narrow openings. ADCNR Causeway report

A 2015 state study tested sediment on both sides. It found DDT compounds, PAHs and metals above ecological benchmarks, with the most exceedances at Shellbank River. ADCNR Causeway report Before you drive piles, dredge a slip or replace a wall on a Causeway lot, ask whether sampling is needed. Fill placed in the water must be free of toxic pollutants. ADEM dredge and fill rule

• The study looked at bridge openings at Choccolatta Bay, Justins Bay and Shellbank River. A Justins Bay opening would affect about 9.4 acres of wetland. ADCNR Causeway report
• Near those sites, call State Lands before design is fixed. Its coastal office is at 31115 Five Rivers Boulevard, (251) 621-1216. ADCNR contact page
• ADEM's dredging fee is $2,125 for under 500 cubic yards. ADEM fee schedule

Storms on a low road

Georges in 1998 pushed 8.0 feet of surge above mean sea level along the Causeway and damaged many businesses. NWS Mobile Georges report Katrina destroyed or damaged most businesses there. The Mobile gauge hit 11.5 feet, near the 1916 record of 11.60. NWS Mobile Katrina report Zeta damaged restaurants on the eastern Causeway. NHC Zeta report

Debris lines in the Spanish Fort and Daphne areas stood as high as 7 feet above ground. Surveyors measured 7 to 9 feet of inundation across northeast Mobile Bay. NHC Zeta report

The bay can also empty. Isaias in October 2026 drove water in the Port of Mobile to about 3 feet below mean higher high water. NWS Mobile Isaias report Sally's back side dropped Mobile's gauge about 10.6 feet in 20 hours. NHC Sally report

• High water sets cap height and the load on tiebacks.
• Low water exposes pile toes and the face of the wall.
• Ask each designer to check both extremes.

D'Olive Bay: a young, muddy bay

D'Olive Bay sits behind a narrow peninsula slightly over a mile long that may not have formed until about 1820. That makes the bay roughly 150 years old as a separate feature. Marsh lines its low north and west sides, and uplands line the east. MBNEP D'Olive Creek page

Creeks feeding it have been the target of about $16 million in restoration work. MBNEP D'Olive program D'Olive Creek is classified for fish and wildlife up to the Lake Forest Dam. ADEM use classifications That is why the city's land disturbance rules matter on bluff and creek lots as much as the wall at the water. See Daphne and Montrose for the bluff lots.

Where barges and crews stage

Public ramps are the staging points. Chocalotta, at 3101 Battleship Parkway, has four ramps and about 50 spaces but no lights. Scott's Landing, at 5901, has one ramp with lights. The Tensaw ramp, at 1401, was listed as temporarily closed. ADCNR boating access list Meaher State Park, at 5200 Battleship Parkway East, charges $5 to launch. Alabama State Parks The D'Olive Bay ramp in Daphne has two ramps and lights. ADCNR boating access list

State and federal tests for a new or replaced wall

New bulkheads must sit at or landward of the mean high tide line. A replacement may stand at or within two feet waterward of it under a Consent of Use. State Lands rule ADEM adds that no feasible non-structural alternative can exist. ADEM coastal rule

• The Corps bank permit covers bulkheads up to 500 feet long that keep fill to an average of one cubic yard for each running foot. Corps nationwide permit 13
• Structures may use no more than a quarter of a waterbody's width and must stay 100 feet from a federal channel. State Lands rule
• Narrow delta sloughs reach those limits quickly, so measure before design.

The bay and the delta behind it

Mobile Bay is a shallow drowned river valley. It averages about 10 feet deep, runs roughly 11 miles across and 31 long and drains about 43,000 square miles. NOAA About Mobile Bay Meaher State Park covers 1,327 acres of wetland and has a 300-foot fishing pier. Alabama State Parks

Historic Blakeley State Park, on State Highway 225, protects more than 2,000 acres where Alabama's largest Civil War battle took place. It has a kayak launch. Historic Blakeley State Park Spanish Fort itself was the site of a Confederate fort attacked in 1865. Encyclopedia of Alabama

The D'Olive watershed covers about 8,739 acres shared by Daphne, Spanish Fort and the county, and its plan was updated in 2022. MBNEP D'Olive program Because three governments share it, a creek lot's drainage may cross a line. Ask each office who reviews it.

What could the work cost?

Ask bidders to price sediment questions, access by water and any land disturbance work as separate lines. Sediment testing, if the state asks for it, adds cost. Compare with costs per foot and replacement. State dredge and fill fees start at $2,655 for filling under 1,000 square feet.

Orange Beach permit values are what applicants declared for fee purposes, not invoices. Public bids carry bonding and county terms. Prices for steel, concrete, composite and aluminum come from outside Alabama and are labeled with their geography.

Find the relevant permits and records

Prepare the questions for the responsible office.

A Spanish Fort and Causeway pre-bid checklist

Finish these four checks before you invite bids on a Causeway or D'Olive Bay job.

1. Place the lot on the jurisdiction map

   Use the county parcel viewer layers. Pieces of the Causeway belong to Spanish Fort, Daphne or the county.

   Permitting FAQs | Baldwin County Building Department · TIGERweb Census Current (2026) Incorporated Places (layer 28) and Counties (layer 82), point-in-polygon and boundary queries

2. Call the building department about marine work

   No bulkhead form is listed, so ask which permit applies and whether land disturbance is triggered.

   PERMIT FORMS & INFO | City of Spanish Fort · BUILDING DEPARTMENT | City of Spanish Fort

3. Ask State Lands about sediment and restoration sites

   Walk over to the Causeway office or call. Ask whether your lot is near a studied bridge opening and whether sampling is needed.

   Restoration of Hydrology along Upper Mobile Bay Causeway: Feasibility Investigation Report (Weston Solutions for ADCNR State Lands Division, December 2015)

4. Find the flood zone and past permits

   Confirm the flood map, effective April 19, 2019, and search the county permit records for any earlier marine work on the lot.

   Community Status Book Report: Alabama, Communities Participating in the National Flood Program (report date 10/31/2026) · Search Permits, Reports, Certificates of Occupancy, & Elevation Certificates | Baldwin County Building Department

Keep planning

Nearby waterfront guides

Daphne & Montrose, Fairhope bayfront & Fly Creek

View the local guide directory.