CN
22 May 2025, 01:29 GMT+10
DADEVILLE, Ala. (CN) - As many as 1,200 residents of the small town of Camp Hill, Alabama, would lose access to their household water supply this week if the town did not make a payment of at least $125,000, the city of Dadeville, which supplies the natural resource to the neighboring town, threatened in a May 16 letter.
Camp Hill, however, says it is not indebted to the city for that amount, and is further challenging the additional $50,000 in penalties that the city is seeking from it.
According to a petition for injunctive relief filed May 16 and testimony in a Tallapoosa County courtroom Wednesday, the dispute began in January when Camp Hill received an abnormally large bill for its monthly water usage. After some investigation, a major leak was discovered in a 6-inch supply line on Camp Hill's side, but it was repaired before the next billing cycle. But the abnormally high bills continued while Dadeville also tacked on penalties for late payments while the charges were in dispute, bringing the total amount it says Camp Hill owes to $173,889.
With a vacant main street and nearly non-existent tax base, Camp Hill relies primarily on utilities and court fines to generate revenue. Its annual budget is only around $1 million, according to Mayor Messiah Williams-Cole, who told the court Wednesday the town has the ability to "pay what it owes."
In response to the injunction request, Alabama Circuit Court Judge William Whorton indicated Wednesday he would issue a temporary restraining order against Dadeville, allowing water service in Camp Hill to continue uninterrupted while the parties negotiate or proceed toward a trial date in August.
"I'm not going to let the citizens of Camp Hill not have water," Whorton said, addressing the parties. "Y'all have a big problem. I would encourage you all to sit down together and leave the animosity I feel in the room right now out the door and figure it out."
During the hearing, Williams-Cole testified that in the five years preceding 2025, Camp Hill's average monthly bill was roughly $29,111. But in the past five months, the bills have been between $39,475 and $68,326. The town's bill for the month of May was $67,558.
In response to the high bills, the mayor said he undertook an audit in March and discovered Dadeville had raised rates on Camp Hill inequitably since their contract was initially signed in 2012, despite language indicating the rate would only be adjusted based on the city of Dadeville's costs.
Dadeville purchases its own water from nearby Alexander City at a rate of $1.58 per 1,000 gallons, a rate Williams-Cole said hasn't changed since 2001. According to the contract, Dadeville would then supply water to Camp Hill at a rate of $2.35 per 1,000 gallons. But in spite of the contract, the town's price has been increased at least five times since 2014. Today, Camp Hill pays $6.40 per 1,000 gallons.
Judge Whorton said he couldn't consider the rate hikes at this point in the case, as they were not necessarily relevant to the unpaid debt and potential for loss of service. But he asked Mike Ingram, the superintendent of Dadeville's water authority, about the costs the city incurs by supplying Camp Hill's water.
Ingram couldn't put a number on it, but said costs included manpower, maintenance on the trunk line supplying Camp Hill, and chlorine that is added at a treatment plant. Both parties acknowledged the terms of the contract were not being adhered to, such as a requirement that Camp Hill's meter be serviced and calibrated whenever usage deviates 2% or more. Ingram said the meter has not been calibrated in at least a decade.
Perhaps most importantly, the contract clearly states Camp Hill shall face no late fees or penalties for non-payment, other than the threat of cancellation of service.
Darryl Heard, a Dadeville water supervisor, testified that he could not find other significant leaks in Camp Hill's system, but he also wasn't fully familiar with it. He also said the town's pump has been running nonstop for the past several months while its water tank will not fill up.
"The water is running out through the ground somewhere," he said.
Camp Hill, which is about an hour drive northeast of Montgomery, has a median household income of $30,000, which is less than half of the state average. The population is 86% Black and 36% of residents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Comparatively, with a population of around 3,000 people, Dadeville has a median household income of $57,240. Just over half the residents are white and only 17% live below the poverty line.
After the hearing, Williams-Cole said he would meet with Dadeville's water board to further discuss investigating the problem and possibly reaching a settlement before the trial date.
"It's just mysterious," he said, noting he discovered through a public records request that Dadeville has not been ordering more water from Alexander City as a result of Camp Hill's alleged high demand. He also said Camp Hill has never been brought to the table to discuss rate increases.
"We only get a 30-day notice that the price will increase," he said. "It feels like Camp Hill is being treated like a little step-brother."
Later Wednesday, the mayor and the Camp Hill town council circulated a letter suggesting the town was being "bamboozled" out of its water system.
"Camp Hill is facing injustice at the hands of a neighboring municipality," the letter says.
Dadeville's water authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: Courthouse News Service
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