House committee gives favorable report to SB 330 to restructure Birmingham Water Works Board

A state House committee voted to give SB 330 a favorable report after a public hearing in which residents, county officials and Birmingham Water Works leaders traded sharply different accounts of the utility’s performance and the bill’s likely effects.

Supporters of SB 330 told the committee the bill would replace the existing board with a smaller, professionally focused board intended to correct long-standing operational and financial problems. Opponents argued the measure removes local control, could disrupt ongoing capital projects and leaves some counties underrepresented.

Senator Jabo Wagner, one of several legislators who spoke in favor of the measure, said the bill addresses problems that have recurred over a decade and asked the committee for a favorable report. “Here we are again, and here I am again asking you to give this bill a favorable report,” Wagner said.

Senator Roberts, also speaking for the bill, told committee members the system has serious losses and deferred maintenance. “We currently do not bill for 50% of the water that is pumped,” he said, adding that the system’s pipe replacement schedule is far longer than industry best practice and that a smaller board with technical and financial expertise would be better positioned to manage repairs and projects.

Opponents included local elected officials and residents who said the proposal should have been developed locally rather than at the state level. Representative Gavant said the change amounts to “a taking” of local authority and criticized the bill’s appointment structure. Representative Jim Hill and Representative Mary Moore urged more local input; Moore, a former president of the Birmingham Industrial Water Board, said local officials who built and financed systems such as St. Clair’s were not adequately consulted.

Wanda Shelby, a taxpayer from Fairfield, asked whether taxpayers would be able to vote on the restructuring and whether the state would attach a budget. Shelby said she had not been able to obtain clarity about the bill’s provisions before the hearing.

Tresha Huffman, chair of the Birmingham Water Works Board (appointed by the Birmingham City Council), summarized provisions and raised several specific objections she said are in the bill. Huffman said SB 330 would allow elected officials to serve on the BWW board, permit “double-dipping” by elected officials (lines 191–195), double board member pay (lines 262–267), and eliminate opportunities for the public to comment on certain board business. “SB 330 makes the board even more political by allowing elected officials to appoint themselves or other politicians to this board,” Huffman said, and she warned the bill could disrupt projects such as reinforcement of Lake Purdy Dam and the installation of AMI meters.

Birmingham Water Works General Manager Mac Underwood disputed the bill’s premise that the utility has failed to invest in infrastructure. He said Birmingham Water Works “meets or exceeds all federal regulation for water quality,” pointed to roughly $142,000,000 in pipeline replacements and $178,000,000 on treatment facilities over the last five years, and described a $115,000,000 capital plan that includes about $80,000,000 for Lake Purdy Dam renovation. Underwood said the utility planned to issue bonds in early June and that an abrupt governance change could delay financing and increase costs.

Several speakers questioned representation on the proposed board. Under Huffman’s summary, the bill would convert the current nine-member board to an eight-member board with appointments described in the hearing as: one by the mayor of Birmingham, one by the city council, one by Blount County, two by Shelby County, one by the governor and one by the lieutenant governor. Multiple representatives said that arrangement would reduce Birmingham’s appointing authority and leave counties such as St. Clair underrepresented; Representative Hill urged adding a seat or constraining statewide appointments so areas of St. Clair County served by the system would retain representation.

After public comment and a round of questions from committee members, a member moved that the committee give SB 330 a favorable report. The motion was seconded, and the committee approved the motion by voice vote; the record does not capture a roll-call tally. The committee chair announced the bill had received a favorable report.

The hearing transcript does not specify the bill’s next floor schedule or any amendments that the committee required. The transcript includes multiple references to prior legislative measures in 2015 and 2016 addressing board composition and to Alabama law authorizing the Birmingham Water Works as a public corporation under Title 11 of the Alabama Code, which witnesses cited in discussion about ownership and authority over reservoirs and system assets.

Votes at a glance: SB 330 — Committee action: favorable report (voice vote; exact tally not specified).