BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - Residents of the Four Winds West apartment complex in Birmingham are angry. The water at their apartment complex was shut off late Thursday night, making this the fourth time in the last 12 months.
"We determined we’re taking action,” resident Jerome Jones said.
According to Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, Birmingham Water Works restored water to the building Friday night. Four Winds residents read the three memorandums from BWW, which state water service was being terminated because of unpaid bills. However, the residents are raising concerns about those back payments.
"If we, the citizens, pay our bills and the water is added within our bills, we are paying it," resident John Williams said. "Sixty-something units in here, and everybody pays their rent on time so there’s no use, no need for any way this water should be off.”
According to its website, Four Winds West is a community for people 62 or older or with a disability.
"You’re talking about people that’s bedridden, sick, on oxygen. You got nurses coming out here, they need water to clean the patients. And then you think so less of the residents that you would not pay their water bill?” Tyson said.
"Everybody doesn’t have the means of moving or finding better situations for themselves, so they have to endure what’s going on here," Williams added. "I think it’s a shame that they have to go through such tragedies.”
People living at Four Winds say the issues at the building go beyond the water being turned off, including trash piles up bringing odors and rodents, open sewage, rotting wood on some balconies and rusty appliances.
"When you drive up, it looks like a spooky place. Not a place for living or dwelling,” said Williams.
"We’re living, we’re human beings, we’ve got to be respected to the truest, to the bottom line. No other way but respect," resident Jessie Pratt said. "From here on out, if they don’t start doing it, we’re going to have to stop paying rent.”
According to Tyson, the company that owns Four Winds West, Millennia Housing Management, has created a payment plan with BWW. Tyson says $5,000 has been wired and a $3,400 check has been mailed, but she says the company still owes $29,400 by the middle of the month or the water will be shut off again.
"It’s not the people who live in these units, and it’s just unfair and something needs to be done,” she said.
Tyson says Congresswoman Terri Sewell is working to get Housing and Urban Development out to help the people at Four Winds West.
The same company that owns Four Winds West used to own Bankhead Towers, the apartment complex in downtown Birmingham that was condemned in September 2024. We have sent Millennia Housing Management a list of questions regarding the water bill back payments but have yet to hear back.