A Jefferson County judge has ordered Central Alabama Water to immediately resume adding fluoride to the state’s largest water system until he hears arguments in court.
The order this afternoon from Judge Fred Bolling is a victory for the city of Birmingham which sued Central Alabama Water Friday after the utility’s CEO announced an immediate end to fluoridation of water and the controversy that resulted.
CEO Jeffrey Thompson March 20 announced in a press release that the utility would immediately end fluoride for all its 750,000 customers.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, among others, has been critical of Central Alabama Water’s decision and accused its leaders of putting politics above public health.
“This is the same board that promised transparency,” Woodfin wrote on social media. “The same leadership that said they would run this utility the right way. And now they can’t even follow a basic notification statute before stripping a public health measure from hundreds of thousands of people’s drinking water.
“The people of Birmingham and the surrounding communities deserve answers. And they deserve a utility that follows the law.”
City Attorney Nicole King filed the lawsuit on behalf of the city.
Fluoride is a mineral that is added to water to prevent tooth decay, particularly in children. Its use was considered a major public health achievement but has become politically charged in recent years.
Judge Bolling cited state law that requires 90-days notice before any water utility changes the fluoridation process by either beginning or ending it. The 90 day notice was not given by CAW when it announced an immediate end to adding fluoride.
Bolling was blunt in scolding CAW in his seven-page order.
“The blatant disregard for the mandates of Alabama Law pertaining to this subject area has certainly harmed and injured customers and ratepayers of the defendants,” he wrote. “Further, this harm and injury will likely continue without the issuance of the requested temporary restraining order.”
Bolling’s order is in effect until April 2, when there will be a hearing in his courtroom.
Reached by AL.com Central Alabama Water spokesman John Matson declined to comment, citing the utility’s policy of not commenting on litigation.
Central Alabama Water has said it would cost $3.7 million to replace broken fluoride delivery equipment.
But Bolling’s order anticipated that possible argument from the utility. He disregarded that cost was prohibitive – even before the argument was made – questioning other expenses being paid for by the utility.
In one example, he noted that CAW had recently laid off 135 employees while continuing to pay the fees of the utility’s high-priced lawyers.
“However, if costs would be a factor that the court could consider, the court would eagerly await what argument could be made concerning costs that would justify placing public health at risk, while administrative salaries continue to balloon, front-line workers have been terminated by the hundreds, and salaries for legal services have for years been inflated, to include months when legal services billing has exceeded $100,000.00 or more per month,” Bolling wrote.
As criticism grew in recent days, Central Alabama Water defended its decision to end fluoridation, saying that most of its customers have already gone without fluoride for several years.
The equipment was broken and never fixed, according to Central Alabama Water.
The Shades Mountain Filter was the only plant out of four that had provided fluoride for its customers in recent years. Shades Mountain serves the suburban areas.
Original article online at: https://www.al.com/news/2026/03/judge-sides-with-birmingham-orders-central-alabama-water-to-restart-fluoride-for-now.html