This article is excerpted from Wave Maker’s News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the full newsletter here.There have been significant complaints about Hattiesburg, Mississippi’s two sewage lagoons. Both sewage treatment plants have been in violation of the Clean Water Act over the past five years and have been polluting the already impaired Bowie and Leaf rivers with sewage without regard to public health or the law. Springtime in Hattiesburg is not the season of renewal that it represents for the rest of the world. No, beginning about March, a terrible, foul odor permeates the entire city crippling businesses and greatly harming the quality of life for thousands of residents. Neither sewage treatment facility has been seriously punished for these chronic violations, or made significant improvements to these failing facilities. Hattiesburg’s North Lagoon (top), and South Lagoon (bottom). Images courtesy of Bing Maps, and Google Maps. Facts about Hattiesburg’s North Lagoon: Permitted to discharge 4 million gallons of effluent per day.Has received 22 notices of violation since January 2005.Has been fined once in 2007 for $4,850.Has been in non-compliance for 11 out of the last 12 quarters.Violated permit limits for biological oxygen demand (BOD), fecal coliform, and BOD percent removal.Facts about Hattiesburg’s South Lagoon: Permitted to discharge 20 million gallons of effluent per day.Has received 10 notices of violation since December 2006.Has been fined once in 2007 for $4,850.Has been in non-compliance for 7 out of the last 12 quarters.Violated permits limits for BOD, total suspended solids, chlorine, fecal coliform, and BOD percent removal, and total suspended solids percent removal.Both facilities have grossly violated their permit limits for fecal coliform, which is a serious public health threat. Most cities of Hattiesburg’s size no longer rely upon lagoons to treat sewage. Unfortunately, Hattiesburg has been unable to invest in a modern sewage treatment plant that meets the needs of the city and keeps families safe. GRN will be working to help Hattiesburg address these problems and protect the health of the people of Mississippi.
