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Each month in Alabama Village, around a million gallons of water purchased for use by homes and businesses is leaking out of decaying pipes and migrating back to a sewage lift station, where it’s then pumped to a wastewater treatment plant, according to a former manager for Prichard Water.
The leaking impacts the city’s ability to drain rainwater. If sewers are full of clean water that’s been leaked into the system, there is less room for the stormwater the pipes are actually designed to carry.
In some communities in Prichard, including Alabama Village, fire protection has been stifled by low and unreliable water pressure.
Roger Varner, a Mobile lawyer who represents residents and businesses across Prichard in litigation against the city’s water utility, said that he is also worried about how a changing climate will impact residents.
“It’s all tied together,” he said. “If this problem isn’t fixed now, things are only going to compound with climate change. If you keep kicking the can down the road, it’s going to get to the point that nothing can be done.”
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📸: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News
