Prichard residents are hoping to learn from other water crises around the country, as its long-troubled water and sewer utility faces big questions about its future.
On Thursday evening, around 30 residents of Prichard and the surrounding area gathered at Blount High School to hear from a panel of community organizers from different cities in the U.S. that have experienced water crises: Flint, Mich., Detroit, Mich., and Jackson, Miss.
Advice from the panel included urging residents to retain control of their failing water and sewer system and test the quality of their water.
The panel was convened by We Matter Eight Mile Community Association. Carletta Davis, president of We Matter Eight Mile, said the hope was that Prichard and surrounding residents could learn from the activists as they face a crisis of their own.
“I think it’s very important for the community to get information, and to see themselves in other communities,” Davis said after the meeting. “It’s important that they understand the importance of making an informed decision.”
A report from the court-appointed receiver in charge of the Prichard Water Works & Sewer Board stated in June that more than $400 million may be needed to make the necessary repairs to the utility’s infrastructure. PWWSB currently loses about 60% of the drinking water it purchases from Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS).
In his final report in July, Receiver John Young recommended that MAWSS, which provides water and sewage services to most of the county, take over the utility.
But members of the panel stressed the importance of having autonomy over water systems. In their respective cities, they said the community was shut out of critical decisions about utility infrastructure and where money should be invested, both before and after a crisis.
“Nobody’s going to come rescue you,” said Monica Lewis-Patrick, an organizer with We The People of Detroit, an advocacy group in the city. “There’s no governmental entity or external entity that’s going to come in and make you fight for your constitutional protections.”
Patricia Hardwick-Hall, a resident of Eight Mile, said she was firmly against MAWSS or the state taking over PWWSB. Based on the panel, she said she didn’t trust that the area’s water and sewer issues would be fixed by an outside takeover.
“Listening to Detroit, to Flint, it appears that they’re in worse shape after the state, so whatever took over, than they were to begin with,” Hardwick-Hall said. “We should maintain our own water system, and it should be publicly owned.”
Davis said she was in favor of a state-appointed board to manage the utility. The community doesn’t have details about what a MAWSS takeover of the utility would mean for residents, she said.
Still, PWWSB has an uphill battle: In Young’s report, he detailed the numerous repairs that need to take place: 70% of the utility’s water pipes are in poor condition and will need to be replaced in the next 20 years, and 34% of the utility’s sewer pipes are in poor condition.
William Strickland, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, said Thursday that the utility spills about 16 million gallons of sewage annually.
In the meantime, members of the panel advised residents to start testing their water, as a way to get a clearer understanding of the water quality in their home. They also provided advice on installing at-home water filters as a way to improve water quality.
Above all, the panelists reminded residents that they needed to be united and demand transparency in the process of fixing the utility’s issues.
“Demand to know what is happening,” said Brooke Floyd with the People’s Advocacy Institute in Jackson. “It’s your water, you deserve it.”
Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board provides water for residents of Prichard, Chickasaw, and the unincorporated area of Eight Mile. Around 32% of Prichard residents live in poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and PWWSB customers face some of the highest water bill burdens in the state and nationally, Young said.
Prichard’s water and sewer utility has long faced difficulties, but it reached a tipping point in 2023 when it defaulted on a $55 million loan from Synovus Bank, leading to Young’s appointment. FBI and Mobile County Sheriff’s Office agents raided the PWWSB offices in 2022 as part of an investigation into corruption and theft. A former manager at the utility was arrested and charged as part of the investigation.
But there has been some positive news: earlier this year, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management allocated around $5.8 million to the utility for water and sewer improvements.
