PITTSBURGH,None — A University of Pittsburgh study shows southwestern Pennsylvania is plagued by about 27,000 wildcat sewers -- makeshift pipes that homeowners, farmers and others have used to drain raw sewage into ditches and water ways.
According to Channel 11's news exchange partner at TribLIVE, the sewers cause 16 billion gallons of sewage to flow into rivers and watersheds each year, and put a half million people at risk for death or illness from the resulting pollution.
John Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, said wildcat sewers were a big problem in Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County until the 1980s, but remain a problem in more rural areas without municipal sewage service.
Pitt researchers believe the makeshift drains serve about 11,000 homes without septic systems.
• Email Newsletter: Get The Latest News Sent To Your Email! • Mobile: Get WPXI Headlines On Your Phone, iPhone, More • RSS: Add Us To Your Page!