Something stinks in Wilson County, Tennessee. And the community says it isn’t just the summer heat. Families have watched as smelly, murky water pooled in their yards.
Local environmental groups are gearing up to take the legal fight straight to the company they say is behind this disaster. The Water and Waste Authority and its contractor are both accused of letting polluted water seep into the community.
What’s happening?
According to WSMV, the Southern Environmental Law Center warned Wilson County’s utility and a contractor called Adenus Operations that a lawsuit was incoming if they didn’t clean up their mess. The group says polluted water has been seeping into neighborhoods and has even gotten into Old Hickory Lake. Residents in Ridgewater took photos showing standing water just a few feet from front doors and creeping toward creeks.
Stephanie Biggs, a staff attorney with the group, put it bluntly: “Letting polluted wastewater flow into our creeks and lakes isn’t just disgusting, it’s a public health hazard.” She doesn’t think anyone should have to worry about sewage pollution while gardening in their yard or having fun at Old Hickory Lake…