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Prichard Wastewater Reform

Prioritize Funding for Prichard’s Water Crisis

Target: ADEM Director Lance LeFleur

Every Alabamian deserves clean, safe water.

In Prichard, sewage spills flood the streets due to a collapsing infrastructure. Since 2021, more than 50 million gallons of raw sewage have spilled into the streets, creeks, and waterways of Coastal Alabama. The city’s drinking water is under threat, and many Prichard residents are paying high bills for unreliable water.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has the opportunity — and the tools — to help fix this. A comprehensive Master Plan, finalized in July 2024, and underlying Asset Management Plan, outline shovel-ready projects and long-term improvement plans. What’s missing is the funding to make it happen.

Tell ADEM to take action now and prioritize Prichard in upcoming infrastructure funding.

Sponsored by
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Mobile Baykeeper
Mobile, AL

To: ADEM Director Lance LeFleur
From: [Your Name]

We are grateful to ADEM for its leadership and for the critical funding already awarded to improve Prichard’s water and wastewater system. That investment marked a turning point in a community that has endured decades of disinvestment, chronic sewage spills, and serious concerns about water quality and public health.

We urge you now to build on that progress by continuing to fund urgently needed, shovel-ready projects in the Prichard Water Works & Sewer Board’s Master Plan through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program.

The human impacts of this crisis are stark. Over the past five years, more than 49 million gallons of raw sewage have spilled into local streets and creeks—exposing residents, including children, to dangerous pathogens and rendering nearby waterways unsafe for swimming or fishing. Families are navigating past sewage spills on their way to school or work. Many pay high bills for water they’re unsure is safe to drink, and aging infrastructure continues to leak over 60% of treated water, draining resources from an already struggling system.

These conditions are unacceptable, and the burden falls hardest on low-income, majority-Black neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked. Delaying action now would only deepen this injustice.

But for the first time in decades, Prichard is positioned to change course. With a comprehensive Asset Management Plan, a Master Plan that prioritizes critical repairs, and a court-appointed receiver with the technical expertise to implement them, the utility has never been more prepared to deploy funds effectively. The receiver has committed to remaining in place long enough to ensure progress begins—and funding awarded this cycle would give the people of Prichard the dignity and stability they deserve.

We understand that questions about long-term governance remain unresolved. But those answers will not arrive before this funding cycle concludes. ADEM has the discretion to act now—and by doing so, can stabilize a fragile system, protect public health, and make any future solution more viable.

Please do everything in your power to move this funding forward as soon as it becomes available. The people of Prichard have waited long enough for safe, reliable water, and your continued support can help bring it within reach.

Sincerely,

137 Signatures Collected
Only 63 more until our goal of 200

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    The Problem

    Prichard Wastewater has serious ongoing issues with treatment of sewage and sewage spills. Between 2021 and 2023, the utility had 309 spills totaling more than 45 million gallons. Its treatment plants release 5.2 million gallons per day of wastewater.

    Prichard Wastewater has violated its permit numerous times over the last several years, including bacteria levels 4,000 percent above its permitted limits. These issues have raised serious public health concerns, with sewage spills and poorly treated wastewater impacting the safety of local and downstream waterbodies for swimming and recreational activities. These issues highlight the utility’s operational and infrastructural inadequacies, necessitating urgent reforms to protect community health and affected waterways.

    Our Solution

    The Prichard Water and Sewer System is in dire need of immediate and comprehensive intervention to address its failing infrastructure and the ongoing public health crisis. The state needs to properly allocate funds to fixing these issue. Baykeeper is working with the community to secure those funds and ensure they are used properly to fix the many issues. The safety and well-being of the people of Prichard and the health of their waters is at stake.

    How Did We Get Here?

    John Young is appointed as receiver to oversee Prichard’s water system and provide recommendations. His early findings indicate a need for either a state-appointed utility authority or a takeover by MAWSS.

    2023 - Receiver Appointed to Oversee Prichard Water System

    Between 2021 and 2023, 309 sewage spills occur. The average spill duration is 18 hours, with an average volume of 148,000 gallons. More than 30 million gallons is estimated to have spilled into area waterways.

    2021 - Massive Sewage Spills

    Prichard’s wastewater treatment plants experience numerous spills, with violations including over 2,000 percent exceedances of Enterococcus. In one case, the Stanley Brooks WWTP records a release where bacterial levels exceed permitted limits by 3,000 percent.

    2020 - Public Health Risks Escalate

    ADEM issues a consent order to PWWSB, requiring immediate action to address ongoing violations at the Carlos Morris and Stanley Brooks WWTPs. Prichard Utilities is required to develop a comprehensive SSO response plan.

    2019 - ADEM Consent Order and Compliance Mandates

    In 2014, Prichard voters approve a referendum for MAWSS to take over, with 52.5 percent voting in favor. MAWSS officials vote to walk away from the takeover, citing a “poison pill” contract with Severn Trent Services.

    2014 - Prichard voters approve a referendum

    Despite upgrades, the PWWSB struggles to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations. The Carlos Morris and Stanley Brooks wastewater treatment plants face recurring violations of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.

    2005-2020 - Continued Non-compliance and Infrastructure Deterioration

    Mobile Baykeeper sues the Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board after uncovering undetected sewage spills. Under the settlement, PWWSB commits to a water quality monitoring program at Eight Mile Creek and upgrades its two treatment plants.

    2005 - Prichard Water Board Settles Lawsuit with Mobile Baykeeper

    A cracked pipe in Prichard’s sewer system pours millions of gallons of raw sewage into a wooded area over five months. The spill went undetected for months, leading to serious public health and environmental risks.

    2003 - Undetected Sewage Spill in Prichard

    Stay Tuned. Be sure to join our mailing list for upcoming details on Prichard Wastewater Reform and how you can be involved.

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