Waste water crisis has triggered an investigation by the justice department, with many residents accusing local and state officials of environmental racism. nbc s yamiche alcindor reports. reporter: the dark green waters across from jerry dean smith s home hold a foul-smelling mix of human waste. it smells. it smells so bad. reporter: in hanesville, alabama, and many towns across the county, residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. but here, many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you got waste running in people s yards, neighbors yards. it backs up in the majorities of these neighbors homes. it backs up in their bathroom and on their floors. reporter: smith and her neighbor say it s a health risk. in fact, one study found one out of every three adults here tested positive for hookworms, an intestinal parasite long thought to be eradicated. katherine coleman flowers, who grew up here, is an environmental activist.
Environmental racism. yamiche alr has been looking into this story. reporter: the dark green waters across from jerry dean s home holding a foul smell of human waste. it smells so bad. reporter: in alabama and many towns across loudoun county, residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. here many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you got waste running in people yards and it backs up into these neighbor homes and in
Inadequate sewage system or not at all. some residents rely on straight piping in a decentralized system of is septic tanks, meaning they live among open sewage. activists alike say a waste management system should be a right. reporter: the dark green waters across from jairy dean smith s home hold a foul smelling mix of human waste. it smells, it smells so bad. reporter: in alabama and many towns across the county i residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. but many homes have failing sewage systems or none lat. waste in people s yards. it backs up in the majority of the neighbor s homes, backs up in the bathroom and on the floors. reporter: smith and her neighbors say it s a health risk. one study found one out of three adults tested positive for hook