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4 years of the consent decree, and we still have a sewage issue |
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Houston’s sewer system is failing, and too many families live with raw sewage backing up into their homes. The city has the power to fix this, and Bayou City Waterkeeper invites you to join them in demanding action this month. Today marks four years since a federal judge approved Houston’s $2 billion wastewater consent decree, sewage overflows remain a persistent crisis. Since 2018, Bayou City Waterkeeper has tracked over 9,300 overflows — and since January 8, 2021, more than 6 million gallons of sewage have spilled into our waterways, polluting communities and threatening public health. These overflows disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and lower-wealth neighborhoods, yet gaps in transparency, investment, and effectiveness persist. Houston continues to have one of the highest numbers of consent decrees in Texas, highlighting the urgent need for stronger oversight and equitable clean water investments. Meanwhile, the City faces ongoing penalties for continued violations. Over the past year, we’ve partnered with Northeast Action Collective (NAC) and West Street Recovery (WSR) to ensure that community perspectives drive policy demands. Their firsthand experiences have directly shaped our Turning the Tide policy agenda, reinforcing the urgent need for targeted wastewater infrastructure investments. A key priority remains the creation of a Private Sewer Lateral (PSL) Fund to help residents in the hardest-hit areas repair failing sewage systems. The #JusticeInTheSewers campaign calls for a $20 million fund to help homeowners repair broken private sewer lines so no one has to live with sewage where kids play and people call home. Additionally, we urge the City to secure funding sources beyond community tax dollars to support private infrastructure upgrades. This is essential to ensuring that all residents — regardless of income — can make necessary repairs and that the City fully meets its obligations under the consent decree. Despite some progress, bottlenecks in implementation persist — especially in communities most in need. We continue to push for policies that prioritize investments in private wastewater systems so that improvements reach residents facing chronic sewage issues. As we mark this milestone, we remain committed to transparency, accountability, and lasting clean water solutions for all Houstonians — not just some. |
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