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Agents with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) visited Lowndes County recently as part of a nationwide survey aimed to identify and assist rural communities underserved by water and wastewater infrastructure.

The agents met with Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program executive director Sherry Bradley and president Perman Hardy, reviewing the organization records and going out into the field where work is ongoing to address Lowndes County’s wastewater disposal crisis.

“I took them out to two different sites,” Bradley said. “At one site, there were five homes together. At the second site, I showed them what needs to be fixed.”

“They were very impressed with our work. They looked at the tanks and asked questions about our funding and how it is being used. They want to make sure that grant money is being used correctly.”

The visit represents just one layer of accountability the program provides, Bradley said. Each month the program provides reports to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency within the legislative branch that supports Congress in meeting constitutional responsibilities by gathering and providing information. At the request of senators, the GAO is reviewing the USDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and surveying drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities.

“We have a request from a couple of senators asking us to review what the USDA and EPA know about rural communities that are underserved by water and wastewater utilities, and then also how these agencies are prioritizing financial and technical assistance for the communities,” said Alfredo Gomez, director of the GAO’s environmental audits. “We know from past work that small utilities face a number of challenges, like technical challenges, capacity challenges and access to financial assistance. And so, one of the things that we want to do in our study is also understand what those challenges are.”

Congress has also asked to know what the range of costs are for water infrastructure projects, Gomez said. So the audit looks at organizations serving rural communities to assess the method and scope of services.

The survey focuses specifically on grants awarded by federal agencies, Gomez explained, to measure the oversight which is supposed to be taking place.

During their visit to Lowndes County, agents met with Mosses Mayor Orbuty Ozier to look at the work of the Lowndes County Water Authority. They also talked with Carmelita Arnold, president of the Lowndes County Unincorporated Wastewater Program board of directors.

“They had a meeting at the water board, and I was there to go with them,” Arnold said. “I gave them the whole rundown of what our office does. I gave them everything, step by step and [told them] where we are at and all our numbers.”

Gomez said the survey spans across several states and is ongoing as work continues to meet the needs of underserved communities. Results of the survey are not yet available.

“Alabama is just one of many places we’re going to be visiting to get an understanding of the issues,” Gomez said. “We won’t discuss our work when its ongoing. After the work ends, we will issue a report.”