Tag: Birmingham Water Works Board
City Leaders Call on Public To Stop Bill That Would Change BWWB
Members of the Birmingham City Council and Mayor Randall Woodfin say the bill would dilute the city’s influence over the water works but do nothing to improve water quality.
Ethics Commission Won’t Pursue Complaint Against BWWB Chair
The Ethics Commission said there is no evidence to support allegations that BWWB Chairwoman Tereshia Huffman had violated the ethics law. Lawmakers also revised a bill to revamp the BWWB, adding two members.
Givan To Hold Town Hall on Bill to Change BWWB Membership
The town hall will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Parker High.
BW Recommends | April 20, 2025
BW Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.
A water leak led to a $20K bill for an Alabama couple. A smart meter could have saved them.
When smart water meters work, they can detect expensive leaks early. But the tech’s costly to do right — and even more so when it’s done wrong. Read more.
Birmingham City Council Opposes Water Works Bill That Would Dilute Its Influence
The Birmingham City Council has officially announced its opposition to a state bill that would cut two council-appointed seats from the Birmingham Water Works Board, with some councilors saying the Legislature is trying to wrest home rule from the city.
House Bill 177, sponsored by Rep. Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills, would reduce the number of BWWB seats from nine to seven, removing two of the four currently appointed by the council. Appointment authority over the remaining five seats on the board — two by the mayor of Birmingham and one each by the Jefferson County Mayors Association, the Shelby County Commission and the Blount County Commission — would remain unchanged.
On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved a resolution of opposition to the bill.
“This bill directly takes away two appointments from the council,” said District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, who chairs the council’s Governmental Affairs and Public Information Committee. “That basically dilutes our ability to represent our ratepayers, who are the (board’s) largest bloc of ratepayers.” Read more.
JeffCo Commission Debates Support for Senate Water Works Bill
Lashunda Scales expressed confusion today when a resolution supporting Senate Bill 179 was tabled.
The bill was said to affirm the actions taken Tuesday when the Jefferson County Commission approved its billing agreement with the Birmingham Water Works Board.
During today’s commission meeting, Steve Ammons moved that the resolution be tabled to get more information. Read more.
Jeffco Commission Approves Billing Agreement with Birmingham Water Works Board
The Jefferson County Commission, in a specially called meeting Tuesday, approved a new billing agreement with the Birmingham Water Works Board. The agreement follows months of negotiation between the two entities.
Birmingham Water Works has served as the billing agent for Jefferson County Environmental Services for residents who are BWWB customers. These bills show both water charges and sewer charges. The sewer charges are based on the water usage for the same billing period.
“We negotiated with them and came to a billing agreement which will allow more dollars available for our sewer repayment and make a more realistic and true cost of sewer billing for our customers,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said. “It was a cooperative effort. We’re proud to partner with the Birmingham Water Works Board on this and to be partners in perhaps future cost-saving methods surrounding the billing of water customers.”
Read more.
Birmingham City Council Working on Plan for Overhaul of Water Works Board
As the Alabama Legislature considers a complete overhaul of the Birmingham Water Works Board, the Birmingham City Council is mulling its own legislation to meet state lawmakers halfway.
For the second week in a row, the council on Tuesday postponed action on an ordinance that would place additional prerequisites on its BWWB appointees. The proposal, which first appeared on the council’s April 11 agenda, would tighten background and training requirements for council appointees.
The language in the delayed ordinance closely echoes a bill currently being considered by the Alabama Legislature, which would add similar strictures to board appointees. But the Legislature’s bill, HB177, would go much further, firing all current board members and reducing the number of BWWB directors from nine to seven — removing two council-appointed seats from the board entirely.
Read more.
BWWB Collection Issues Raised During JeffCo Commission Discussion on Sewer Billing
A proposed extension of Jefferson County’s sewer billing relationship with Birmingham Water Works broached a discussion about why customer costs are rising.
County Attorney Theo Lawson told the Jefferson County Commission during Tuesday’s committee meeting that he has been negotiating with the utility company over BWW billing customers both for water and Jefferson County sewer service. Lawson said the current contract expires in December and must be extended six months while those discussions continue.
“We need to maintain the status quo,” Lawson said, “so that we do have collections in place until we can get this squared away.”
Commissioner Sheila Tyson said the dual billing relation has allowed some with BWW to blame Jefferson County for higher customer bills. “The collection method they have isn’t good because if it was, they wouldn’t be overcharging these people,” she said. Read more.
