The embattled Central Alabama Water came under heavy fire Friday as four lawsuits were filed against it, one alleging that the state’s takeover of the system last year was unlawful and the others alleging the utility illegally fired three former managers without regard for the terms of their contracts.
A federal lawsuit brought by two former members of the utility’s board of directors contends Birmingham residents bought their water utility in the 1950s, and the state-mandated reorganization to lessen Birmingham’s representation amount to a contract violation.
“The state did not give us a water works,” said William Muhammad, who served on the board from 2016 to 2020 and is a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit along with former board member Brenda Lewis. “We had to buy it. So how can the state come in and change the board and take it over with no regard for the $20 million that was invested in it by the citizens of Birmingham?”…