Western Filter Plant
The Western Filter Plant is one of four water treatment plants operated by Central Alabama Water. It is located at 1400 Bankhead Highway (U.S. Highway 78) in Thomas and serves customers in Birmingham and Gardendale.
The plant has a capacity of 60 million gallons of water per day, and filters water drawn at the Mulberry Intake Station and Sipsey Intake Station in the Black Warrior River basin.
The elevated 20-acre plant site with 1,000 feet of highway frontage was acquired by the Water Works Board in May 1960, just as the Lewis Smith Dam was nearing completion. It was anticipated that the new plant would reduce the system's intake from Inland Lake at the Inland Pump Station, allowing for more future recreational and industrial development in the Pinson Valley area.
Goodwin Engineers of the South designed the plant for an ultimate capacity of 40 million gallons per day, but equipped it only for an initial capacity of 10 million gallons per day. The new plant was constructed for just over $1.8 million by Sullivan, Long & Hagerty of Bessemer with structural steel from the Chicago Bridge Co.. It opened in the summer of 1962.
In 1976 the utility began a two-year expansion of the facility to double its capacity to 20 million gallons per day. The Titan Group of Florida submitted the lowest bid of $4.6 million. Funds for the work came from a $5 million bond issue.
The plant was expanded again to its present capacity in 1985. In 2022 the plant was recognized for excellence by the Alabama Water and Pollution Control Association.
Since March 2024 the Western Filter Plant was not fluoridating its water.
In June 2025 a 60-inch main delivering water to the plant from the Sipsey River began leaking, requiring the closure of Brookside Coalburg Road near Mount Olive while it was repaired.
References
- Beiman, Irving (May 22, 1960) "Water Works Board buys filter plant site." The Birmingham News, p. A6
- "Contracts Let For Filter Plant" (November 4, 1960) Birmingham Post-Herald, p. 6
- Beiman, Irving (May 20, 1962) "East Thomas plant to hike water supply." The Birmingham News, p. A30
- Crane, Barbara (July 27, 1976) "Florida firm wins filter plant contract." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. 3
- Mwai, Diane (June 7, 2025) "Major leak near Brookside results in road closure." AL.com
- McMurrey, Olivia (June 19, 2025) "Birmingham Water Works May Declare Emergencies to Fix 2 Issues Affecting Filter Plant." BirminghamWatch