Improving Community Health, One Backyard at a Time
Helping low-income families afford proper wastewater disposal systems
Apply
Receive an application. If you would like to find out if your property qualifies for our program, click below to send a request for an application.
Donate
Donate to the cause - 100% of public donations go directly to fund wastewater treatment projects, operations and maintenance.
Become a Corporate Sponsor
Corporate Sponsors information. This is where organizations like installers or construction crews can sign-up to collaborate or schedule a visit.
Total Amount of WASH Educational material provided
Treatment Systems Installed
Lives Improved
Total Members
Literal Cesspools
The Black Belt region of Alabama is traditionally defined as a set of 17 counties arcing through the south-central part of the state. Eleven (11) of these counties have high concentrations of clay soil including Lowndes County. Large portions of Lowndes County are rural, unincorporated, and not connected to municipal utilities wastewater disposal. Black Prairie soil is virtually nonabsorbent. This type of soil causes onsite sewage systems to become problematic.
With high and persistent poverty levels, low income homeowners cannot afford the cost of a an onsite sewage disposal system, which has generated the dangerous practice of straight piping. The practice of straight piping releases household untreated wastewater (sewage) above ground.
We Install Wastewater Disposal Systems
Understanding the negative community health impact, the BBUWP was created to increase the accessibility of proper onsite wastewater disposal resources. Phase One of the project consist of serving a minimum of 100 homes, Phase Two is based on funding and will serve those in need beyond the pilot.
Through our program, partners and the generosity of our donors, installs and repairs onsite wastewater systems. BBUWP also provides educational outreach, as well as new system monitoring and maintenance for the benefit of low income homeowners living with failing and nonexistent wastewater systems.
Our Focus
We are working to improve the quality of life in the Black Belt area through community collaboration & intervention.
Our Project
With a focus on community health, the Blackbelt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP)works to empower people in the Black Belt Community by first addressing the bare necessity of proper onsite wastewater disposal. Today, approximately 70- 80% of all rural households in Lowndes County and other counties of the Black Belt Region of Alabama have failing or nonexistent wastewater systems. Challenged with high poverty levels and poor soil conditions, rural families are left with few alternatives and resort to a hazardous practice known as “straight piping” to remove household wastewater. Straight piping is a gateway to disease-causing pathogens generated from exposure to raw sewage. These harmful conditions negatively impact human health, rural water supplies, animal and plant life, the environment, and the community where straight piping is practiced.
