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: 1/25/2026
Discharge Volume: 3,300-gallons approximately
Location: INVESTIGATOR DORNELL COUSETTE ST & KAULTON RD
Latitude: 33.178455
Longitude: -87.569828
Destination: UT to Cypress Creek
Cause: Rainfall Event
Failure: The Water Resource Recovery Facility received a SSO SCADA alarm for a possible sewage overflow due to rainfall event. The Operations Technical Services crew & SSO Investigations confirmed upon field observations that a sewer manhole was overflowing. SSO signage was posted. The OTS crew and the WRRF facility are continuing to monitor the site. SSO volume and duration was calculated via MH spillage chart, field observation and SCADA. The Tuscaloosa County Health Department as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are being notified.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notice
Date: 1/25/2026
Discharge Volume: 2,200-gallons approximately
Location: 4400 block of REESE PHIFER AVE
Latitude: 33.170565
Longitude: -87.564148
Destination: UT to Cribbs Mill Creek
Cause: Rainfall Event
Failure: The Water Resource Recovery Facility received a SSO SCADA alarm for a possible sewage overflow due to rainfall event. The Operations Technical Services crew & SSO Investigations confirmed upon field observations that sewer manhole 9229 was overflowing. SSO signage was posted. The OTS crew and the WRRF facility are continuing to monitor the site. SSO volume and duration was calculated via MH spillage chart, field observation and SCADA. The Tuscaloosa County Health Department as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are being notified.