Sewage overflow in Tuscaloosa remains while fingers stay pointed

TUSCALOOSA, Ala (WIAT) – The Hurricane Creek Keeper is warning residents about a sewage overflow in the area of Hargrove Road.

“Out of an abundance of caution, I would warn people from Cottondale Creek to the river to avoid contact with the water. For today at least,” Hurricane Creek Keeper John Wathen said.

Wathen notified the City of Tuscaloosa about a sewage spill which he and the city said originated from apartment complex Beacon Place’s privately owned sewage lift station.

The complex was originally within Tuscaloosa County limits. In October of 2023, it was annexed into the City of Tuscaloosa, according to the property manager Greg Wood.

After Beacon Place was annexed into the city, they made an agreement that allowed the apartments to put in their own sewage collection system which would then deposit into the city’s sewer system.

“We talked to the city engineers about it. We told them this is not a good idea,” Wathen said.

One year later, sewage from the privately owned lift station overflowed and made its way into nearby water run-offs which lead to the Black Warrior River, Cottondale Creek and other natural water sources around Tuscaloosa.

“The City needs to stop issuing permits for these on-site facilities unless they are willing and able to follow up when they fail,” Wathen said.

While Beacon Place is now within city limits, it doesn’t fall within their oversight according to one councilman.

“We’ve already notified the health department,” Tuscaloosa City Councilman John Faile said. “We have notified the owners and that’s all really, we can do. We don’t have the authority to do anything else.”

After a remedy could not be made with the city, Wathen contacted the Health Department, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Beacon Place. He said those who did pick up gave the same response as the city.

“The city says they have no authority, they gave them the permit. ADEM says they have no authority. Who does?” Wathen said.

Hours after notifying multiple agencies and the complex, Beacon Place brought someone in to identify the cause and fix the problem according to Wood.

The man hired to fix the lift station said the overflow stemmed from a part malfunction that gauges sewage levels. A properly functioning switch knows when it’s full and when it’s not. However, the switch was broken and the lift station filled up with sewage and overflowed into the nearby water run-offs.

Yet, according to the creek keeper, a broken switch shouldn’t mean sewage overflow.

“What we have here is supposed to be a closed system, no sewage should ever reach one of these streams,” Wathen said. “In the meantime we actively have sewage. Everything that is flushed in that subdivision up there is now running down this creek.”

Wathen took water samples from where sewage overflowed into. If it happened in city limits, it’s the city’s job to send out a notice, which they do. But right now, people living nearby have no idea what they are being exposed to.

“It’s scary to know whatever is going on down there could be jeopardizing the community health,” Venus Washington said.

Washington lives in a neighborhood adjacent to where sewage was spilled and hopes someone does “whatever the necessary means to clean this situation up.”

If the sewage were to stay in the area and flow into rivers, backyards, homes, creeks and other areas of public access, it could cost more than the price to fix a broken switch.

“The bacteria that is released in a sewer overflow like this is very dangerous for human contact,” Wathen said. “It can cause all kinds of infections. People have died from coming into contact with this type of bacteria.”

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