I am writing to ask the city of Tuscaloosa to clean up chronic sewage system failures and meet its responsibility to protect public health.

The city of Tuscaloosa’s sewage system chronically overflows harmful sewage and industrial wastewater into yards, roadways, creeks, and the Black Warrior River. For decades, the city of Tuscaloosa has allowed its sewer system to fall into disrepair. Broken and leaky components create system failures and unpermitted raw sewage overflows, which threaten public health and wildlife.

Approximately 42 million gallons of untreated sewage, including industrial wastewater, have spilled into Tuscaloosa’s streets, yards, and streams since 2018, and the city’s own reports show more than 350 illegal raw sewage overflows and more than 1,000 wastewater discharge permit violations in the past five years.

Most of these sewage spills flow into beloved streams people swim, paddle, and fish in, including Hurricane Creek, Cypress Creek, Cottondale Creek, and the Black Warrior River.

Tuscaloosa has experienced significant population growth in recent years, making it critical to address sewage overflows now to avoid even more catastrophic failures in the future, as new users add onto the system. Residents deserve properties, communities, and waterways free from sewage spills.

Mayor Maddox and City Councilors, please commit to more significant and timely investments to address Tuscaloosa’s ongoing failures in wastewater transport, management and treatment in order to prevent chronic sewage overflows and pollution permit violations.