The number of homes still lacking indoor plumbing in the Historic Triangle is a hard number to nail down, but the latest count is at about 70 in York and James City counties, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
The Housing Partnerships, Inc. of Williamsburg’s Executive Director Abbott Woodall said it’s hard to know the true number of homes without indoor plumbing because there’s a stigma attached to disclosing the information. Homes without plumbing may have one of a few different bathroom options: An outhouse, an indoor toilet that flushes into the ground rather than into pipes, or a greywater system that uses gravel as a filter in the ground.
The Housing Partnerships, Inc. — a nonprofit agency that provides housing rehabilitation services — is working to reduce the number of homes without indoor plumbing by offering concerts to raise funds for indoor plumbing installation. The funds raised from the concerts are used to help put plumbing in the Greater Williamsburg homes without it.
This year marks the fifth year of the concerts and will feature a salute to Jimmy Buffett with the Parrots of the Caribbean concert at 6 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Lake Matoaka Amphitheater. Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $10 for students, but $12 online tickets are available for purchase leading up to the concert. Williamsburg Celebrates sponsors the concert.
All proceeds from the concert go toward Providing Indoor Plumbing to Everyone (PIPE). Woodall said the program to install plumbing in homes in the area has been going on since 2005. In 2007, the Leadership Historic Triangle class — now LEAD — took on PIPE as its annual class project and started the fundraising concerts.
The Housing Partnership, Inc. has continued on with installing plumbing and has helped 30 residents in the area get plumbing in their homes for a total of about $790,000 over the years.
Citizens without plumbing who would like assistance may contact The Housing Partnership, Inc. by phone at 757-221-0225 to request an application. Eligible applicants meet certain income criteria and must own their homes.
Currently, six homes in the area are on the waiting list for assistance.
“We seem to keep finding more … as someone sees us doing work then they become aware of the program,” Woodall said.
The organization performs service based on need. Typically, homes with outhouses get assistance first, Woodall said. Homes with the indoor system that flushes into the ground have the indoor system that those with outhouses are lacking
“We’re trying to help the greatest need the soonest,” Woodall said.
To install plumbing, sewer lines are run to homes without sewer service or septic systems are installed. Woodall said some septic systems cost $25,000. In one case, a home was ineligible for any plumbing option so the owner was relocated.
For more information about The Housing Partnership, Inc., visit the organization’s website. For more information about the PIPE 2007 project, visit its webpage.
