What’s going on with the Hattiesburg sewage lagoons?
For decades sewage lagoons have been Hattiesburg’s means of treating waste from households, businesses, and industries such as USA Yeast. There are two different sets of lagoons, the 14-acre North lagoon and the 400-acre South Lagoon. Despite the age of these facilities, the city of Hattiesburg and its population of over 50,000 residents still depend on the lagoons to process large amounts of waste. In fact, the South lagoon alone processes up to 20 million gallons of waste per day! This poorly treated wastewater is then dumped directly into the Leaf River – a popular recreation destination. Meanwhile, the North lagoon discharges its waste directly into the Bowie River. Polluted water from the Leaf and Bowie Rivers eventually finds its way into the Pascagoula River and out into the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Issue
When the Hattiesburg lagoons were first built, there were no laws protecting the health of our waters. Although, national and state laws have been implemented to ensure that our waters stay clean, the two lagoon systems have collectively violated clean water laws 39 times in the past 5 years alone! This pollution harms the health of nearby rivers, poses risk to human health, and is just plain gross. The aging sewage lagoons are also the source of a terrible stench that plagues downtown. This smell is not only a nuisance to local residents and businesses; it is also a deterrent to tourist and prospective students. Downstream and coastal residents in Mississippi should also be concerned about pollution from the Hattiesburg sewage lagoons because that polluted water eventually makes it way to popular recreational spots like the Pascagoula. All-in-all, the lagoons are having a negative impact on our environment, recreational potential, and economy.
Discharge from the South Lagoon into the Leaf RiverAnother problem, identified by a 2008 study, is the discharge of untreated wastewater into the lagoons by USA Yeast Corporation. USA Yeast pumps almost a million gallons of waste into the city's lagoons and is one of the causes of the Hattiesburg stink.
Hattiesburg is a great city with lots of potential for growth; however, that potential will be severely limited without investments in new sewage treatment infrastructure.
What can be done about it?
It is time for city, state, and federal officials to take responsibility for the sewage problem by investing in new, modern sewage treatment infrastructure and requiring USA Yeast to pretreat its waste.
If you live in Mississippi, click here to take action to make sure the Lagoons are cleaned up!
For more information on this issue, you can check out some of our past blog posts:
If you want to get more involved in the fight to make sure the lagoons are cleaned up, please contact Raleigh Hoke at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or 504.525.1528, ext. 204.
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