Alabama’s Supreme Court sided last week with conservation groups who sought to protect a water source for Birmingham.
Cahaba Riverkeeper and Cahaba River Society brought suit against Birmingham Water Works Board last January, arguing that the Water Works had an obligation to protect 6,000 acres of land around its drinking waters intakes on Cahaba River.
Conservation groups argue that a court settlement in 2001 requires the Water Works, which was targeted for development near U.S. Highway 280 in Birmingham, to permanently protect the land.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the groups had presented a valid claim and that Water Works had not met its obligations as a result of the 2001 settlement. The court also ruled in favor of the two groups as ratepayers, allowing them to sue to complete the agreement.
The Alabama Supreme Courts decision is a win in Birmingham’s drinking water, and for the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the Cahaba river watershed, David Butler (Cahaba Riverkeeper) stated in a press release. The Board has a responsibility for protecting this land in public interest and to ensure that Birmingham communities have clean, safe drinking waters.
The case will now go back to the Jefferson County Circuit Court. It granted a motion dismissal in June. The Water Works and Alabama Attorney Generals offices filed the motion.
The Water Works and Alabama Attorney general had argued that conservation groups were not entitled to sue to enforce this agreement. The 2001 agreement to protect the land against development was reached by Bill Pryor (then-Attorney General) and the Water Works.
They also argued that the 2017 conservation easement agreement satisfied all requirements of the settlement, even though they only provided temporary protections and would allow the Water Works the sale of a portion of the land for development.
The Court sided with conservation groups, noting Alabama law states that conservation easements are agreements for permanent protection of sensitive lands through the transfer of ownership to a third-party group like the Freshwater Land Trust or Nature Conservancy.
A spokesperson for the Alabama Attorney Generals Office stated that they had not commented on the ruling.
Birmingham Water Works did no immediate response to requests for comment.
Birmingham Water Works claims it is the largest Alabama drinking water utility, providing water for approximately 600,000 people in Birmingham. It also has intakes on the Cahaba River and Black Warrior Rivers.
Birmingham Water Works spokeswoman Rick Jackson stated that the board was committed in providing high-quality water to the entire service area when the case was filed.
Jackson stated last year that we have a long history of fighting for all our water sources, including all the lands around Lake Purdy, Jackson said.
Conservation groups argued that the land was bought with ratepayer money to naturally filter water before it reached the Water Works intake. This kept the maintenance costs low, and provided better quality water for the City.
In a news release, Beth Stewart, Cahaba River Society, stated that previous generations had paid for the protection of this land. She believes it should be protected permanently for future generations. We look forward to working with the Board to determine the best method to protect these lands through conservation easements, consistent with Courts holdings, and in the interest of ratepayers. This would reduce costs and ensure that water is affordable for everyone.
After a long battle over Birminghams water utility’s future, some wanted to privatize the Water Works while others wanted to integrate its operations under the city government, the 2001 settlement was reached.
The settlement kept Birmingham’s Water Works separate from the city government. It also established certain requirements for utility service, including permanent protections for the land.
The circuit court will determine if the Water Works is meeting these requirements.
In a news release, Sarah Stokes, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, stated that Alabama’s conservation easement statute was upheld by the Supreme Court. We look forward in establishing in the circuit Court that the Birmingham Water Works Board must fulfil its obligation under the settlement to create permanent conservation easements for this critically important land.
