LOWNDES COUNTY, Ala. A breeze wafts the stench of raw sewage into Erics face as he stands outside his ramshackle mobile home. If he notices the smell, he doesnt react.

The 62-year-old, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, strolls a few yards from his front door to where a black pipe emerges from the ground and empties a stream of putrid water into a shallow trench. Each time the toilet flushes in Erics home, waste flows through the pipe and out to this makeshift sewer. The effluence snakes its way within feet of a stand of trees where two pit bulls are tied up, and disappears into the woods at the far end of the yard.

A number of these waste streams crisscross the property, which Eric shares with relatives who live in several trailers clustered together near his. When it rains, he says, the trenches overflow, spreading bathroom tissue and fecal matter onto the grass. During heavy rains, wastewater backs up into Erics bathroom.

Theres also a stinking pool of sewage in the yard, just feet from the door of a nearby trailer. Soggy wads of toilet paper dot the layer of green scum on the surface. The pool is about four feet across and bubbles up from a broken septic tank below. The stench is overpowering. Eric keeps his distance.