Sherry Bradley, M.P.A.

Sherry Bradley is the former Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services with the Alabama Department of Public Health, where she served as a public servant for 45 years. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration and has worked in the field on this project since 2018. For approximately 20 years, improper wastewater disposal in Lowndes County unincorporated area has been highlighted in the news.  Sherry decided to produce a “model” onsite program that local officials could follow – it has taken 3 years, but the program has been implemented, taking away any excuses for not having an affordable and sustainable onsite sewage disposal treatment system. 

The Blackbelt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) was created out of need, to help low-income families who could not afford a wastewater disposal system. USDA granted federal funding to the Program so that at least 100 homes in the unincorporated areas of Lowndes County could receive an onsite wastewater disposal system; to include, homes with substandard onsite systems that are not working properly.

It is the first project of its kind where a homeowner pays a one-time down payment of either $500 or $1,000 depending on the soil type and $20 per month for maintenance of the system. After some USDA modification, the number of homes that can now receive onsite installations is 175-200 homes.