A fight over power, politics, and pipes threatens $183 million in federal funding to replace Birmingham’s aging lead water lines.

Central Alabama Water needs the city’s sign-off to secure the money, but after state lawmakers stripped Birmingham of control of the utility earlier this year, Mayor Randall Woodfin said his support hinges on several conditions — a move that has some board leaders crying foul and calling it “ludicrous.”

“It looks like he’s holding the Birmingham residents and ratepayers hostage — just like what’s going on in Washington right now,” Philip Wiedmeyer, vice chairman of the water board said at the meeting Monday evening, comparing the action to the federal showdown between Democrats and Republicans.

Wiedmeyer, a Republican appointee to the water board, appears to

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