The United States economy is the world’s largest, a position it has held since 1890. Its technology, science and research have helped reshape the globe. Yet it has failed to provide the most fundamental service of an advanced society — access to clean water and sewage systems — to all its citizens. The sewer infrastructure in the U.S. is inconsistent and outdated, and its oversight and management is fragmented. As a result, the most vulnerable in America are exposed to contaminated water sources, frequent sewage backups into homes and expelled into yards, foul odors and increased exposure to harmful pathogens.
Decades of chronic neglect and underinvestment have left many parts of the country, especially small, rural minority and low-income communities, struggling with inadequate sewage infrastructure. About 25% of U.S. households lack access to centralized sewer systems and instead rely on on-site treatments like septic tanks. Septic systems, however, fail as high as 50% in some areas, expelling significant amounts of raw sewage onto the ground.
Newbern, Alabama, nestled in the state’s remote Black Belt region, epitomizes this crisis. For decades, the people of Newbern have known this issue first hand. But in November, 2020 this small town became a test site for a pioneering sewer system that could be a model for other communities nationwide. With support from Columbia World Projects, this initiative aims to transform wastewater infrastructure in the United States.
Newbern's broader implications
Chronic underinvestment, increasing demand and the consequences of climate change have demonstrated major weaknesses in how the United States manages its sewage, with patterns of neglect that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States a D+ grade for its national wastewater infrastructure. A study of 11 rural Alabama counties by the Consortium for Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater Management found that 1 in 6 municipal sewer systems were overcapacity, and nearly half the homes showed signs of raw sewage, highlighting the severe infrastructure failures.
In the United States, utilities like electricity or gas are centralized to ensure consistent and equitable access in major regions of the country. However, wastewater systems are heavily fragmented, often managed separately by local governments. The result is a patchwork of service in both quality and cost, with small, rural, minority and low-income communities struggling with serious health and environmental risks.
A town at the heart of the problem
Newbern, Alabama is home to about 130 residents living in older houses and mobile-homes. This small community has struggled with economic disadvantages and infrastructure investment for decades. Like many rural communities, Newbern's wastewater system is failing due to outdated systems and poor soil drainage.
Residents rely on septic tanks that often back up into their homes, or they resort to discharge waste directly into the environment, posing serious health and environmental risks. Traditional solutions, like installing full sewer lines, are prohibitively expensive in this low-income area where the median household income is less than $33,000 a year. Moreover, the geographically isolated nature of the homes further complicates the implementation of a centralized sewer system. But a new approach and technology may hold the solution.
The hybrid sewer explained
To solve Newbern's challenges and explore wider implementation, civil and environmental engineers, architects and professors from the University of Alabama, the University of South Alabama and the Rural Studio at Auburn University, in partnership with Columbia World Projects, are testing a new sewer system that is accessible and cost-effective.
In the plan for Newbern, homes will rely on a what can be described as a decentralized or hybrid system. Solid waste will be managed by traditional septic tanks at the homes, while liquid wastewater will be efficiently siphoned to a treatment facility down the road. Unlike traditional systems that strain under the load of both liquid and solid waste, leading to frequent failures, this innovative approach alleviates pressure by handling liquid waste separately, drastically reducing the risk of overflows and backups.
The system’s engineers hope that this method will revolutionize cost and efficiency. By only transporting liquid waste, the system can use smaller, cheaper pipes, making construction more affordable. Residents will benefit from a robust, reliable system that eliminates the health and environmental risks of raw sewage, and puts an end to unwelcome odors.
The project is divided into several phases. Phase one, completed earlier this year, involved constructing the central treatment facility. During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, residents saw firsthand how the system works, with engineers demonstrating its effectiveness in treating wastewater. Phase two of the project is now underway, which will construct the lines to connect up to 60 households to the centralized system by the end of next year, and evaluate if the system successfully reduces exposure to pathogens for residents and the environment.
A model for nationwide change
But the impact extends far beyond this small Alabama town. Collecting data on the system's impact, researchers from University of North Carolina, Arizona State University and Columbia University’s School of Engineering, with support from Columbia World Projects, will demonstrate the impact of the new system, and develop a set of tools and resources that will help communities across the country to improve their sewage infrastructure.
The resources will identify the best wastewater technology for different communities based on soil, geography and existing systems. Additionally, the project will create metrics to prioritize under-resourced communities, ensuring effective allocation of public funding by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.
This project also aligns with broader national efforts to address the country’s crumbling infrastructure and prioritize marginalized communities. Since 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration has focused on these issues, launching initiatives like the “Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative” in neighboring Lowndes County. Additionally, the “Justice40 Initiative” directs 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, including clean water infrastructure, to support disadvantaged communities. These efforts signal a commitment to improving infrastructure and ensuring equitable access to essential services across the nation.
By testing and developing new waste management strategies in towns that struggle with these very problems, researchers and stakeholders hope to lay the groundwork for scalable solutions, transforming the future of wastewater infrastructure in the United States.