By Associated Press
Birmingham, AL – The Birmingham Water Works is ready to proceed with a $379 million project to tap into the Black Warrior River as a water source.
Officials say running a 34-mile pipeline to the river will meet Birmingham's water needs for decades.
The project's coordinator, T.M. "Sonny" Jones, says the plan calls for building a pump station on the river, about three miles downstream of the Bankhead Lock and Dam along the Jefferson-Tuscaloosa county line.
Jones says the pipeline will add 60 million gallons a day to the system. The utility's current capacity is 184 million gallons a day, and demand is expected to climb to 222 million gallons by 2075.