The City of Tuscaloosa has over 700 plus miles of sewer collection lines with 66 active lift stations and over 12,000 manholes. The Water & Sewer Department also operates the Hilliard N. Fletcher Water Resource Recovery Facility, which treats over 17 million gallons of wastewater each day. The Water & Sewer Department provides uninterrupted clean water and sewer services to Tuscaloosa residents.
Additionally, the collections network of the Water & Sewer Department has a robust maintenance plan which includes acoustic pipe inspection, closed-circuit TV pipe inspection, gravity line maintenance cleaning, gravity line replacement, system point repairs, manhole inspection, manhole rehabilitation, system smoke testing, and a formal Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) program.
Finally, an achievement that the department is especially proud of is reducing the number of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) per year to a fraction of what it was in previous years. SSOs have been reduced by over 80% since 2009. This improvement is primarily due to the increased frequency of sewer manhole and line inspection, cleaning, and rehabilitation, combined with the formalized FOG program.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notice
Date: 2/26/2025
Discharge: 300 approximate gallons
Location: 3700 Block of 6th ST.
Latitude: 33.206781
Longitude: -87.586218
Destination: SD to UT to Black Warrior River
Cause: Broken Sewer Line
Failure: Wastewater crews observed a discharge coming up from the ground over the sewer line. Crews utilized jet trucks to unstop the line which ended the discharge. Repair to the sewer line to be scheduled in the near future. SSO signage is in place. Crews cleaned and disinfected the affected area with pure green 24. SSO volume and duration was calculated via field observation. The Tuscaloosa Co Health Department & ADEM have been notified.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notice
Date: 2/4/2025
Discharge: 100 approximate gallons
Location: 3700 Block of 6th ST.
Latitude: 33.206781
Longitude: -87.586218
Destination: SD to UT to Black Warrior River
Cause: Broken Sewer Line
Failure: Wastewater crews observed a discharge coming up from the ground over the sewer line. Crews utilized jet trucks to unstop the line which ended the discharge. Repair to the sewer line to be scheduled in the near future. SSO signage is in place. Crews cleaned and disinfected the affected area with pure green 24. SSO volume and duration was calculated via field observation. The Tuscaloosa Co Health Department & ADEM have been notified.