Commentary by Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery

The North Jefferson News



A key factor in most major business decisions is the word “compromise” or “sacrifice.”

Usually when a corporation makes a major management decision, such as the sale of an asset, it meets resistance from relevant stakeholders or it creates complexities around affected communities, which results in a “win/lose” situation.

However, in the case of the Birmingham Water Works Board’s (BWWB) sale of the Riverview Wastewater Treatment Plant, the BWWB made a financially prudent business decision. Five governments in one metro area concurred and made an effective policy decision for the benefit of not only their constituents, but all concerned parties.

The BWWB sold the Riverview Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Shelby County Governmental Utilities Services Corporation, which turned the plant over to Southwest Water Company. The BWWB sold the plant for approximately $22.5 million. With the sale of this wastewater treatment plant, the BWWB can focus solely on its mission: providing the highest-quality water and service to customers. The money collected from the sale will help fund the BWWB’s Capital Program.

The BWWB is also saving nearly $5 million that it would have had to spend to upgrade the plant if it had not been sold. The benefits to the BWWB and subsequently its customers for making a smart and effective management decision are beyond exceptional.

Intergovernmental cooperation played a major role in the successful sale of the treatment plant. Five government bodies including the Birmingham City Council, city of Hoover, Jefferson County Commission, Shelby County Commission (Shelby County Governmental Utilities Services Corporation) and the BWWB concurred and agreed unanimously to what was asked of them to ensure the plant would sale successfully.

The municipalities involved in the sale now have opportunities they can utilize. In its current state, the sewer plant treats about 1.5 million gallons per day of wastewater. Expanding the plant will open up development and growth opportunities for north and south Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Also, the Jefferson County Commission has the option to purchase the part of the sewer plant that is in Jefferson County for fair market value.

As the Mayor of Fultondale and a member of the BWWB, I can attest to the benefits of working together and collaboration. The sale of the Riverview Wastewater Treatment Plant is a textbook example of an effective and outstanding public policy management strategy.

As our utility, and indeed our region, look into the future of our communities and consider the complexity of the issues we all face, and most importantly the interwoven relationships between us all, we have to start reaching out to one another without turf barriers to make decisions that are a “win-win” for all parties involved. But more specifically, provide a victory for our region as one collective community.

The BWWB made a smart and prudent decision to get out of the wastewater business through the sale of the Riverview Wastewater Treatment Plant, and pending sale of the Moody Wastewater Treatment Plant, and it did so with unanimous cooperation from five different governments. All of our communities are better off for it.