“I had to choose between buying Christmas presents for my grandchildren or using the money to get the septic tank flushed to prevent raw sewage backing up into my home.”
This dilemma, faced by Lowndes County resident Perman Hardy, describes an issue that affects many people in Alabama’s Black Belt region1 and across the US, from New York and Michigan to Nevada and Hawaii.
Surrounded by trees and wildlife, Lowndes County’s rustic landscape is dotted with low-income rural communities in which about 80% of homes have no connection to a centralized sewer system. These households, like 25% of the US population, are responsible for their own onsite wastewater systems and shoulder the associated costs.
Another problem is compounding the situation. The high clay content of the region’s prairie soil, for which the black belt is named, prevents effluent from traditional systems, such as septic tanks, from draining properly. In heavy rain, which is common in the region, septic tanks can overflow, leading to raw sewage flooding into homes.
Residents have been experiencing such sanitation issues for decades, with each new generation learning to live with the problem. Today, Hardy is campaigning for change – and she has joined forces with the Alabama Department of Public Health, the University of South Alabama, LIXIL, and other partners to find solutions.