In Majority-Black Camp Hill, a Young Mayor Fights for Water

CAMP HILL, Ala.—A dispute over soaring water bills for this town’s 1,000 residents has ended up in court this summer after Mayor Messiah Williams-Cole said that his town’s water contract has been violated by its neighbors in Dadeville, who control the flow.  

The water woes began in January, when a water main break sent Camp Hill’s costs spiking. The leak was promptly repaired, the mayor said, but when subsequent bills remained elevated, he reviewed past charges. Williams-Cole, who at 26 is one of the youngest serving mayors in Alabama, found what he said are years of rate hikes and late charges by Dadeville that violate the terms of the water contract.

After bringing that to the attention of Dadeville water officials, Williams-Cole said he received a letter May 13 threatening to terminate the town’s water service six days later. Dadeville officials contend that the threatened cutoff was about nonpayment and a deteriorated water system in Camp Hill.

Dadeville purchases enough water for its customers and Camp Hill’s from nearby Alexander City, paying $1.58 per 1,000 gallons. Under a 2012 contract that remains in force, Camp Hill then buys its water supply from Dadeville for $2.35 per 1,000 gallons. The contract, which Williams-Cole shared with Inside Climate News, does not permit late fees and specifies that rates would increase only “in accordance with the costs of the water to the Board as purchased from the City of Alexander City.”

“Dadeville’s cost from Alexander City hasn’t changed since at least December 27, 2001. I was two years old, the iPhone didn’t exist, George Bush was the president, and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was still wrestling,” Williams-Cole wrote in a social media post to residents. 

But Camp Hill’s costs have continually increased, reaching a peak of $6.40 per 1,000 gallons by 2024, well over double the contracted rate. 

“To put it lightly: we—the town of Camp Hill—believe we are being bamboozled out of our water system,” Williams-Cole wrote in his social media post.

In a recent court hearing, Dadeville officials described the threat to terminate service as appropriate and necessary, saying that Camp Hill is delinquent on payments. They did not provide a rate analysis during the hearing. 

Officials in Dadeville have not responded to requests for interviews but issued a media statement in late May that blamed Camp Hill for the situation.

“The Dadeville Water Board had to take quick action in sending a letter to the Town of Camp Hill and demand payment or be turned off,” the statement said. “As any service provider to the public does. If this behavior were to continue, the Town of Camp Hill would bankrupt the Dadeville Water Authority, ultimately causing issues for our own community. This behavior has a trickle-down effect and ultimately harms Dadeville and Alexander City if that were to happen.”

Alabama Circuit Court Judge Isaac Whorton has issued a temporary restraining order to stop Dadeville’s planned cutoff. In a hearing May 21, the judge advised a quick resolution through negotiation—or a trial would begin in August. 

“I’m not going to let the citizens of Camp Hill not have water,” Whorton said, according to a Courthouse News Service account. “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.”

Camp Hill is a majority-Black community where median household income is $30,000 a year. Dadeville, population 3,000, is about 58 percent white with a median income just shy of double its neighbor’s. 

An Inside Climate News analysis of the towns’ water bills from 2020 to present revealed that Camp Hill residents have paid an average of more than three times Dadeville’s water rate each month. During one billing period, June 2024, Camp Hill was charged an effective water rate—its total charges divided by the amount of water used—of nearly eight times that of Dadeville. 

That month, Camp Hill was charged $46,695 for 4.2 million gallons of water while Dadeville paid less—$31,877—for a lot more: 22.9 million gallons.

That steady increase in water rates for Camp Hill has left its residents struggling to pay their bills, Williams-Cole said in an interview.

He said he met once with Dadeville water representatives to discuss the water bills. Dadeville contended that Camp Hill’s water system has deteriorated nearly beyond repair—a claim Williams-Cole denies, and which should affect only the amount of water used, not the rate per gallon. A second meeting was cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. Williams-Cole is a local prosecutor and said he had a mandatory court hearing.

After that, Dadeville sent a terse missive to Camp Hill, demanding $125,000 in charges and late fees: 

“This letter serves as a final notice for disconnection of the towns water service, approved by the Water Sewer Board at its meeting on May 13, 2025. The following payment schedule must be met: 1. Pay 125,000.00 by Friday May 16th 2025 to avoid disconnection May 19th @ 7am.”

Williams-Cole has disputed the charges and said Dadeville’s demand violates its contract with Camp Hill, which requires at least 10 days’ notice to stop water service in the case of a delinquent payment. He also said that the towns’ contract expressly forbids late fees. 

Terminating water service for Camp Hill would be devastating, Williams-Cole said, leaving residents without drinking water or fire protection.

The Dadeville water board’s media statement suggested that the state should take over Camp Hill’s water system and referenced a recent—and controversial—state intervention with the Birmingham water board. State lawmakers voted to restructure Birmingham’s board to give suburban residents, who form a minority of the utility’s customers, more representation. Birmingham is fighting the change in court, contending it was racially motivated.

“As of May 1, 2025, the [Alabama] Senate voted unanimously, 30-0, to take over Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), see SB 330, and we are asking the State of Alabama to consider the same with Camp Hill,” the Dadeville letter said. 

Williams-Cole said Dadeville’s complaints about leaks in Camp Hill’s water system are exaggerated and meant to shift focus from unjustified rate increases. Camp Hill’s water infrastructure isn’t the best in the state but, in terms of maintenance, it’s nowhere near the worst, he said. 

Camp Hill doesn’t want free water, he said. Its residents want to be treated fairly and Dadeville should follow the contract it signed, he said. 

“You can’t just bully people,” he said. “And that’s what this is.”