A federal judge threw out all nine claims in Birmingham's suit against the law that created Central Alabama Water, ruling the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.

A federal judge has dismissed Birmingham’s lawsuit against the 2025 state law that took the city’s water utility out of its control and turned it into Central Alabama Water.

U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco granted the state’s and the counties’ motions to dismiss Thursday, Oct. 15. She threw out all nine counts and told the clerk to close the case. The 18-page order does not decide whether the law is constitutional. It finds that the people who sued had no standing to bring the federal claims, and it declines to rule on the state claims.

Every count was dismissed without prejudice. That means the order itself does not bar the claims from being brought again.

Who sued, and over what

The case is Woodfin v. Ivey, No. 2:25-cv-00352, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. It was filed May 6, 2025, five days after Gov. Kay Ivey signed Alabama Act 2025-297.

The plaintiffs were Mayor Randall Woodfin, the city of Birmingham and all nine members of the Birmingham City Council. Some sued in their official roles, and some also sued as ratepayers.

The defendants included:

  • Gov. Kay Ivey
  • Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth
  • Attorney General Steve Marshall
  • the Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, Walker and St. Clair county commissions, and Jefferson County Commission President James A. Stephens
  • five other individuals, including people serving on the new regional board

The law converted the Birmingham Water Works Board into a regional board. The city lost the sole power to appoint its members. According to the order, the suit argued the change cut the city’s appointments from six board members to two. It also argued that power moved from majority-Black Birmingham to predominantly white counties. The complaint put the number of Water Works customers inside the city at 90,411.

Why the judge dismissed it

The order deals with the claims in three groups.

Claims Who brought them What the judge found
Counts II, III, IV: equal protection and a civil rights claim Ratepayers The harm described is shared by every customer in the city, which is a “generalized grievance” that cannot support standing. No state law gives ratepayers any right to make board appointments.
Counts I, V: Contract Clause and due process The city, the mayor and council members The injury is not traceable to any defendant, and none of them could fix it. The city’s appointment rights were always subject to the Legislature’s power, so there was no legal injury at all.
Counts VI to IX: Alabama Constitution All plaintiffs With no federal claims left, the court declined to decide the state-law questions.

On the city’s claims, Manasco wrote that “none of the named defendants has the authority to repeal, replace, enforce, or change the Act.”

She also pointed to a state court ruling in a similar case about a decade ago. That court found the city and the Water Works were both “dependent on the Alabama Legislature for their existence and powers.” The order quotes it as saying they “may not hide behind the contract between them” to avoid later laws.

On the state-law counts, the order notes that federal courts are generally counseled to leave state-law questions alone once the federal claims are gone.

What the utility and the city said

Central Alabama Water announced the ruling the same day in a news release and posted the order.

“Central Alabama Water is pleased this case was dismissed today by Judge Manasco,” Shan Paden, the utility’s general counsel, said in the release. “The Court’s action lifts a heavy burden and confirms that Alabama Act No. 2025-297 was lawfully passed by the Alabama Legislature and created a new regional water utility.”

The order itself rules on standing and does not address whether the Legislature passed the law lawfully.

The city had not posted a statement on its news page by Saturday afternoon. The order does not say whether the city will appeal or refile.

A separate federal suit by two former Water Works board members, Muhammad v. Waggoner, was dismissed with prejudice at a hearing Aug. 20, the utility’s release said.

What it means for you

  • Your water service does not change. Central Alabama Water still runs the system that Birmingham Water Works customers used. Outages and billing questions go to Central Alabama Water at 205-244-4000. Our power and water outages page has the links.
  • The new board stays in place. The ruling leaves the 2025 law and the regional board as they are.
  • The fight may not be over. The dismissal is without prejudice, and the state constitutional claims were not decided.
  • Who runs what at City Hall: see our guide to who to call at City Hall.

Central Alabama Water serves customers in Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount and Walker counties. It runs four water treatment plants and more than 4,150 miles of water mains, according to the utility.