More Sewer Issues.

SSO Notification, 10/03/22 07:06 PM. Updated 11/07/22 The only sign was completely hidden from residents   City of Tuscaloosa sewer overflow notice. "There has been a sanitary sewer overflow in the 1700 block of Hurricane Road. The about 200-gallon overflow reached Hurricane Creek. The affected area will be cleaned and disinfected. Signage is in place. Those in affected areas should exercise caution. In the affected areas, there could be health risks associated with the water and contaminated areas that adjoin the water so the City of Tuscaloosa advises people to avoid the water and contaminated areas. Signage is in place at all affected locations and public should follow instructions if in an affected area. This does not impact tap water as the water and wastewater systems are two completely different systems. In an effort to increase transparency, the City is notifying residents and media of all overflows regardless of cause or severity. The City of Tuscaloosa treats over 6.5 billion gallons of wastewater annually at its wastewater plant and less than 0.03% of that volume has been lost to sanitary sewer overflows in its collection system over the last three years. Stay up to date on all City of Tuscaloosa news via social media: Twitter |@TuscaloosaCity Facebook |City of Tuscaloosa - Government Instagram |@TuscaloosaCity"

First I’d like to know how the city came up with only 200 gallons? Second, it was NOT Hurricane Creek but Cottondale Creek, a tributary to Hurricane Creek. It may not sound like that much of a discrepancy since Cottondale Creek does eventually reach Hurricane Creek. However, if you live along Cottondale Creek it makes a huge difference.

The notice says 200 gallons. How do they know when it started and how long did it run before it was found by a young man riding a 4 wheeler? He notified Paddington Park mobile home park authorities where the overflow was ongoing at around 4:30. They then called the city whose general response time is about 30 minutes based on my experience. The city sent out the email notice at around 7 PM.

The city notice also claimed the area will be disinfected and cleaned. There was no such activity going on while I was there. 

The city notice said there was signage in place. NO it was not and still is not as of 12:noon 11.04.22. The only sign I saw was at the creek bank hidden behind a piece of machinery. None of the residents I spoke with said they were notified in any way. They found out when machines showed up and started digging a path to the creek bed where the sewer line runs.

This galvanized pipe broke off due to rust.

As it turns out, there was a malfunctioning air relief valve, which was deep inside a culvert pipe and had to be dug up. It looks like the valve had broken off of the galvanized fitting due to excessive rust. How many more are like this?

At one point a man entered the hole with a shovel for some reason. This location is only about 1,000 feet upstream from Lift Station 10, which has been a chronic and ongoing failure for years. I can’t help wondering if the two aren’t related. It stands to reason that mechanical things break. I get that but why would you place a relief valve that deep in the ground where it’s known to flood. 

At any rate, I have taken samples, which will be ready for distribution tomorrow around 1 PM. I will post the results ASAP.

In the mean time, out of an abundance of caution, I would advise all residents living in the Paddington Park area and below on Cottondale Creek to stay clear of the water. Make sure your pets also can not access the water until we know for sure.

I do not trust the city of Tuscaloosa reporting data so I will get my own data.

I would also like to invite all residents to let us know if you see something like this going on. I sincerely believe the city needs to be far more transparent about overflows and far more accurate in the measurements reported. It takes all of us to hold polluters accountable.  

UPDATE: I returned the next day and found that they did, indeed clean and use granular disinfectant. It's amazing how well they operate when they know someone is watching. 

Water samples taken yesterday show the creek within acceptable limits for Ecoli.