Residents in South Huntsville neighborhood frustrated with sewage setup

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Residents of a South Huntsville neighborhood say they’re frustrated that they haven’t been hooked up to the Huntsville city sewer system.

According to people living at Nature’s Walk on the Flint who reached out to News 19, for over a year, trucks have been draining sewage twice daily from one septic tank that services the whole neighborhood.

“There was no communication that we were not hooked to sewage or that it was not working properly,” said resident Ryan Marks, who has lived in the neighborhood for 8 months.

Another resident, who chose to remain anonymous, told News 19 that her housing agreement said Nature’s Walk uses the city sewer for waste disposal.

“I feel like as buyers we should’ve been disclosed that we’re not on city sewer,” she said.

Sections of the suburb are still under construction and sewage is stored in a septic tank that is emptied twice daily. Representatives from the City of Huntsville said the septic tank is temporary and once construction on the neighborhood wraps up, a pump station will open and connect Nature’s Walk to the city sewer system.

Neighbors say they have had issues with bursting sewer pipes, sewage smells, and standing water in their yards. One resident said that these could be symptoms of the septic tank overfilling.

“We were digging our fence post holes two weeks ago and the dirt just smells like sewage,” she said. “It’s just a lot of unknowns, we’re all concerned.”

Marks says he’s worried that the neighborhood was built up too quickly and plans for hooking the community to the city sewer system were put on the back burner.

“If this is a health concern, that should be top priority,” he said. “Before they keep building houses and stuff, let’s fix the problem and do what we should’ve done the first time, then proceed with building.”

The City of Huntsville responded to health concerns in a statement:

“The City of Huntsville’s sewer system collects wastewater from homes, businesses and many industries, and delivers it via pumping stations or direct lines to plants for treatment. This process meets stringent health and safety regulations. Residences in the Nature’s Walk development, which is a multi-phase subdivision under construction, are connected to the City’s sanitary sewer system. A new regional pumping station supporting this development will be operational in the coming months. Until it opens, the subdivision’s sewer is pumped daily by trucks and transported to a wastewater plant for treatment. This is the same sanitary sewer process that occurs in many locations across the City.”

City of Huntsville Statement

City representatives said that residents will not notice any change in billing or services when the pumping station opens and connects them to the city sewage system.

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