Jefferson County Sewer System
The Jefferson County Sanitary Sewer System is a public utility which captures sanitary wastewater from properties in Jefferson County and conducts it, through an expansive network of underground sewer pipes, to wastewater treatment plants where it is cleaned and returned to natural streams.
The system was initially planned and constructed by the Jefferson County Sanitary Commission, which was created in 1901 with the authority to levy a property tax of up to 0.5 mills to finance construction. Julian Kendrick, Birmingham's city engineer, laid out the original plan consisting of two westward-draining trunk lines: one running along the Valley Creek corridor to a point below Bessemer, and one following Village Creek from East Lake to a point below Ensley. Both streams are tributaries of the Black Warrior River.
Construction of the two-to-five-foot diameter trunk lines began in 1902, flowing into large septic tanks until more advanced treatment facilities could be designed. The fifteen-mile Valley Creek line was completed in 1905 at a cost of $282,024. The 10-mile Village Creek line, completed in 1906, was built for $107,966 with branches extended to Avondale and Woodlawn at additional cost. Birmingham connected its existing network, consisting of 58-miles of sewer pipe, to the new trunk lines and other municipalities with such systems, per Act 714 of 1901, did the same.
Operation of the septic tanks and the use of its effluent for agricultural purposes was contracted to Adler & Company in 1905.
See also
- Jefferson County sewer construction scandal
- Five Mile Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Trussville Wastewater Treatment Plant
References
- Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (November 2001) "The History of the Jefferson County Sanitary Sewer System".