As many readers may remember, the former Birmingham Water Works Board (“BWWB”) was synonymous with corruption, inefficiency, back-room politics, and the type of nefarious activities that would make most people blush from embarrassment.
Everything from criminal indictments of former board members to the theft of copper and everything else not tied down in warehouses, were regular occurrences over the decades of chaos at the old BWWB. Customer complaints soared as high as the unreasonable bills sent to weary and often outraged customers. BWWB’s antics and poor customer service made most people shake their heads in disbelief or disgust.
Run into the ground by its leaders, BWWB was always a nightmare for those unfortunate customers who had issues or required basic assistance. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s infamous, “Good morning to everyone but the Birmingham Water Works Board,” social media post a few years ago exploded over the internet with individuals sharing their horror stories about the system.
The size and scope of the issues within BWWB snowballed, while dissatisfaction skyrocketed. There was little concern from a board accountable to no one, not even its own customers. Dedicated frontline staff often found themselves in the crosshairs of petty board members warring against one another, while many customers felt that their voices and concerns were not heard.
Veteran State Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia), who has been the leader of the Jefferson/Shelby legislative delegation for over four decades said he had never had more complaints on anything as much as his suburban constituents had over the Water Works Board’s abysmal customer service and accountability.
Finally and thankfully, the Alabama Legislature said enough was enough, and passed legislation in 2025 to completely reorganize the board’s composition and provide representation for customers, who previously were ignored. Jefferson County Senators Jabo Waggoner, Dan Roberts, and Shay Shelnutt, ended the BWWB’s shenanigans and created Central Alabama Water (“CAW”), as it is known today.
Under this new law, the City of Birmingham’s stranglehold on appointments to the water system’s board was finally ended. New board members were appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Birmingham’s Mayor, Birmingham City Council, Shelby County Commission, St. Clair County Commission, Blount County Commission, and the Jefferson County Commission President.
The bill’s supporters argued that customers from across CAW’s service area needed to be represented, not just those residing within the municipal boundaries of Birmingham. The Legislature included several requirements to ensure the new board would focus on transparency and resolving longstanding issues that always threatened to harm the water system’s deserved reputation for producing some of the highest quality water in the country.
This new board moved quickly to hire its first CEO, Jeff Thompson, an experienced water utility leader. He hired a skilled management team that is putting an emphasis on efficiency and accountability. Customer service is now something every employee has responsibility for improving.
The Governor’s signature on the reorganization law was not even dry before there were two similar frivolous lawsuits filed challenging the legislation. Last week, a federal judge threw out the most frivolous suit file by two disgruntled former board members, William Muhammad and Brenda Lewis. Both Muhammad and Lewis are longtime Birmingham activists.
A second lawsuit filed by the City of Birmingham and Mayor Woodfin, who in desperation want to cling to any vestige of hope to retain the City’s power and control of water in the central Alabama region.
These legal challenges force CAW to spend considerable time and resources defending the clear intent of the Legislature. While Birmingham’s long shot lawsuit grinds through the legal process, CAW is also unable to secure new funding from the bond market or refinance debt for vitally important infrastructure projects that previous Birmingham-dominated boards ignored for decades.
Birmingham should drop its frivolous lawsuit and work with the new board at CAW to ensure its citizens receive great service and award-winning water in the future. Without a professionally managed water system, the Birmingham region’s growth will be negatively impacted – something that would hurt the whole state.
The families and businesses of Central Alabama demand clean water and better customer service. They also deserve an organization that does the right thing at the right time to support them. Anything less is their time and money going down the drain.
See you next week.
Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at [email protected].