A petition started by Alexander City citizens concerned with water quality and administrative mismanagement has surpassed 1,000 signatures. In response, Alexander City Mayor Woody Baird resorted to singling out individual citizens on the city website for daring to start a petition.

“This petition is being presented to you as a show of hands of residents of Alexander City and surrounding communities begging for your help with the situation of water quality. With the continued smell, color, and the amount of toxins the EPA, ADEM, and the EWG have shown through testing clearly shows that our filtration system is outdated and not working. The amount of chemicals and the types of chemicals used over and over have now produced what is a poison cocktail,” the petition to Governor Ivey reads.

Many have raised concerns about the water quality in Alex City and the additional costs on ratepayers who want to drink clean water.

According to the petition, “we as residents having deteriorating pipes and a treatment system that is outdated and clearly no longer serving its purpose…paying for water then having to spend hundreds out of pocket to filter it again inside our homes is ridiculous.”

RELATED: Alexander City residents continue reporting foul smelling, cloudy drinking water

The petition’s authors also address the questions surrounding a $9 million loan approved by Mayor Baird and other city leaders.

The loan has become an unfunded liability for which the water system and ratepayers are on the hook. “The taxpayers now hold the burden of repaying this debt. If we are responsible, then we ask for accountability as to where such a large amount of money went,” petitioners write.

Baird responded to the petition with a letter distributed to media and posted to the city’s website.

In it, Baird singled out the petition’s author by name and warned other citizens about signing it, saying, “I urge you to be cautious about adding your name to the database of organizations like MoveOn.org. Do a little research first.”

Addressing the unfunded $9 million loan, Baird said, “the $9 million loan from ADEM is for a wastewater line for Alabama Graphite—completely unrelated to potable water.”

Some citizens feel that Baird is sidestepping the core issue, which is what is being done to keep ratepayers from eating the cost of this project. 

According to the Alex City Outlook, “Baird said Westwater is supposed to be footing the bill through prepayments then be paid back in sewer costs once the plant is running. However, Baird said the city has been invoicing Westwater for 13 months and have not seen any payments in return. Currently, the graphite plant owes Alexander City $957,500, according to Alex City finance director Romy Stamps.”

The fundamental question remains: Will ratepayers be responsible for the $9 million loan? Westwater’s lack of payments continues to be troubling to citizens who are already paying higher rates but are receiving poorer water quality in return. 

While ADEM has not confirmed any medical issues arising from the water’s odor and smell, according to an ADEM spokesman, “they can make the water unpleasant to drink.” 

Baird has stated that a “granulated activated charcoal filter” could be a possible solution to the problem but that “the price is what got me pushed off right now”. According to Baird, the charcoal filter would cost $20 million and will take 8-12 months to install.