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 City's formally adopted Fats/Oils/Grease (FOG) Management Program.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notice
Date: 4/15/2026
Discharge Volume: 1,500-gallons approximately
Location: 900 Block of Saint Paul Dr.
Latitude: 33.136209
Longitude: -87.549384
Destination: UT to Duck Creek
Cause: Root Intrusion
Failure: City crews were dispatch to the 900 Block of Saint Paul Dr. Once on site crews identified sewer discharging out of the hole in the ground. Crews utilized jet trucks to remove the blockage which ended the discharge. Crews then utilized CCTV truck to inspect the affected line. Investigation showed a root blockage which caused the discharge. Jet truck proceeded to remove the remaining roots too prevent any future issues. Crews placed out pure green 24 for disinfectant. SSO signage is in place. SSO volume and duration was calculated via field observation. The Tuscaloosa County Health Department as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are being notified.