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: 12/10/2024
Discharge: 35,100 approximate gallons
Location: LS39
Latitude: 33.176806
Longitude: -87.262716
Destination: Little Hurricane Creek
Cause: Lift Station Pump Failure
Failure: Wastewater maintenance techs assessed the high-level alarm at LS39 located at the 10,000 block of Highway 11. Techs observed a power fail between electrical panels and wet well pumps. Jet/vacuum trucks were utilized to mitigate the discharge while techs diagnosed the lift station's electrical issue. To further mitigate the SSO, a major upstream manufacturing facility swiftly decreased their volume of discharge to LS39 temporarily so that techs could make repairs. Two bypass pumps were eventually set up which ended the SSO at 4:22PM. SSO signage was posted. Disinfectant spray was applied to affected ground areas. Maintenance techs have ordered parts to make permanent repairs to LS39. Per field observations, SSO amounts were calculated at 300gpm x 117 minutes=35,100 gallons. The Tuscaloosa Co Health Department & ADEM have been notified/cc
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notice
Date: 12/6/2024
Discharge: 11,960 approx.
Location: LS 41
Latitude: 33.170776
Longitude: -87.406626
Destination: UT to Bee Branch
Cause: Lift Station Pump Failure
Failure:. The City's Water & Sewer Technicians responded to a high level alarm. Lift station techs determined that lift station pump and bypasses pump was clogged with debris. Jet/vac trucks responded to mitigate the discharge. Pumps was repaired and discharge ended. City crews cleaned and disinfected area. SSO signage is in place. The Tuscaloosa County Health Department and The Alabama Department of Environmental Management are being notified