Church member asks Birmingham City Council for help as water dispute with CAW continues

Church member asks Birmingham City Council for help as water dispute with CAW continues

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — A member of East Birmingham Church of God went before Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, asking for help as the church says it remains without water service months after taking Central Alabama Water to court.

Minister Rickey Green said the church has been without water since December. He said the situation has left the church without running water in its bathrooms while its basement remains flooded.

“How could it keep flooding if we don’t have any water on the property?” Green said.

Green said he has been hauling water from his home to the church each week so people can use the restroom and wash their hands.

“Every week I have to transfer water from the house to the church just so people can be able to use the restroom and wash their hands,” Green said. “It started to get overwhelming for me, having to drain all that water every week, back and forth to the church.”

The church sued Central Alabama Water over a disputed water bill. In an order issued July 6, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Frederic Allen Bolling granted a temporary restraining order and injunction in favor of the church.

The order said the church presented evidence that it could not pay a water bill exceeding $60,000 for two months of service. The judge wrote that CAW had not provided a reasonable explanation during the hearing for how the bill could have reached that amount.

The court found the church could suffer immediate and irreparable harm, including potential loss of members and possible closing, without the injunction. The order also noted the church provides services for the community, including youth groups and people experiencing homelessness.

The judge ordered CAW to replace the church’s water meter and not discontinue service, as long as current bills after reconnection are paid on time.

However, the order also required the church to replace piping on its side of the meter to meet Jefferson County Inspection Services, CAW and state plumbing-code specifications. The order set a $30,000 bond.

Green said the church has exhausted its resources trying to determine the cause of the problem and believes it should not be responsible for a leak or other issue outside its control.

“The church is suffering over something behind someone else’s negligence that has nothing to do with it,” Green said.

Central Alabama Water told ABC 33/40 the bond listed in the court order was incorrect because it named the Birmingham Water Board — not CAW.

The utility said it will turn the meter back on once the church completes what it is required to do. CAW said, to its knowledge, the church has not yet done so.