A Jefferson County judge has issued a ruling allowing Birmingham’s regional water utility to continue its plan to permanently discontinue fluoride use in its drinking water supply.
Judge Frederic Bolling of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County issued a ruling on Monday dismissing a temporary restraining order issued in the City of Birmingham’s case against Central Alabama Water. The city sued CAW on March 27 and called on the court to order CAW to reintroduce fluoride into its drinking water facilities.
Bolling wrote that CAW violated state law by “clumsily” issuing a press release announcing it had discontinued fluoride in its drinking water systems on March 20. State law requires that steps to remove the chemical, added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay, may occur only within a 90-day period after official notification.
The judge, however, found that CAW had properly reported its intent to end fluoride use within a 90-day period through a notice to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s state health officer on March 12.
“Upon review of the evidence and the actual procedures taken, the press release was clumsy because it should have simply alerted the public that it had submitted the required notice to the State Health Officer of an intent to cease fluoridation within ninety (90) days,” Bolling wrote.
Following the court’s hearing on the suit, both parties were given extensions to submit arguments for their respective legal positions.
The filing states that the plaintiffs provided no evidence demonstrating the court’s authority to demand the addition of fluoride to the water supply through its injunctive powers and that the court’s own research did not support its authority to do so.
Bolling also wrote that evidence showed there was no practical way to resume adding fluoride to the drinking water before the 90-day period ended.
“The Court is convinced that Central Alabama Water cannot safely resume adding fluoride to the drinking water supply before June 2026,” the judge wrote. “If the Court were convinced that the fluoride could be safely added with the existing equipment or equipment that could be obtained in time, the Court would certainly order that the fluoride be added back during the prescribed ninety (90) day period. Additionally, the Court would have no problem ordering a $100,000.00 per day sanction for each day that the fluoride was not back in the water.”
Although both the state health officer and the circuit court had previously ordered CAW to resume fluoridation of drinking water as its March announcement “seemingly violated the law,” in his Monday ruling, Bolling wrote that evidence does not show that CAW “was acting in conscious disregard for the legal requirements” of the relevant state statute.
“In fact, it appears that they made attempts, although imperfect, to comply with the statutory requirements fully,” Bolling wrote. “This Court’s assessment that they violated the law is premised on the press release wherein Central Alabama Water announced that it had stopped fluoridation, presumably on that same day.”
The court cited that as of March 20, when the announcement was made, it “was known to Central Alabama Water, but not necessarily to the State Health Officer, nor the public” that for two to three years, all but one local drinking water plant had ceased adding fluoride to its water supplies.
The lone plant that still supplied fluoridated water, the Shades Mountain Plant, which serves mostly suburban areas, also fell into disrepair before the announcement.
Bolling, however, seemingly concurred with the utility’s argument that prior governance of local utilities, when drinking water was controlled by the Birmingham Water Works Board, led to CAW being forced to progress the discontinuation of fluoride use, which had begun under the previous governing body.
CAW was founded by a law enacted by Governor Kay Ivey on May 7, 2025, replacing the Birmingham Water Works. The legislation replaced the previous board with a smaller body, which local officials, including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and City Council President Darrell O’ Quinn, condemned as a push to take control away from the city, which is home to 90 percent of the water utility’s customers.
The city controlled six of the nine seats of the prior board.
Under the Birmingham Water Works’ control, the Shades Mountain Plant went without fluoride for more than three years from September 2020 to March 2024. The three other local drinking water plants all discontinued fluoride “due to equipment failure, pump malfunctions, storage tank failures, and supply shortages, all occurring initially under the Birmingham Water Works and continued under Central Alabama Water.”
Bolling wrote that in its final meeting, the total value of contracts awarded by the previous board “could easily cover the estimated $3.7 million cost of repairing and upgrading the water system’s outdated and inoperable fluoride delivery infrastructure.”
“Instead of taking actions to ensure local control over a local utility, a majority of members of that previous Board chose to instead approve contracts of their then legal counsel, and certain administrators, in a move that guaranteed their financial gain beyond the upcoming restructuring of the public utility,” the judge wrote.
The filing cites that just one of the contracts approved will cost the board $2.5 million for consulting.
Bolling went on to express disappointment in CAW’s discontinuation of fluoridated drinking water and the water utility’s failure to properly communicate the policy shift, writing, “it is an absolute shame that this issue cannot be otherwise worked out.”
“As a parent of three young children and a mentor and coach to hundreds, I am very disappointed that this matter had to come before me,” Bolling wrote. “I am encouraged by the fact that it does not appear that the decision to discontinue fluoridation is spurred on by the anti–science movement and alternate reality culture that seems to prioritize feelings over facts; however, the disappointment for this Court comes from the fact that my hometown seems to be caught in a place where the leaders can’t disagree without cutting off all communication.”
“There is simply no way the amount of 3.7 million dollars should be an impossible barrier to the provision of what has been testified to as the TOP 10 public health achievement of our time,” the filing added.
The judge wrote that 50 local municipalities will be affected by CAW’s decision to cease drinking water fluoridation.
“That means that less than $80,000.00 per city and community is needed to make sure that our citizens have the best and most healthy drinking water available,” the judge wrote.
The city of Birmingham declined to comment on the ruling on Tuesday.
A message was left requesting comment on the ruling from ADPH’s Fluoridation Division.
