Anthony Barnes, Former Birmingham Water Works Chairman, Dies

Sherrel Stewart | October 14, 2015

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Anthony Barnes, former chairman of the Birmingham Water Works Board and long-time Birmingham businessman died Tuesday, October 13. He was 65.

“Anthony Barnes was devoted and loyal to the Birmingham Water Works Boards, its employees, and customers,” says Mac Underwood, general manager of the Water Works Board.

“Sometimes, when he would see employees out working in the cold, he’d go and get coffee for them,” says Underwood. “If a water main break was repaired in front of a church, he wanted us to make sure the area was pressure washed so people wouldn’t mess up their shoes on the way in.”

The Birmingham City Council appointed Barnes to the board in 1991. He became chairman in 1996 and held that position for 14 years.

Under his leadership, the Cahaba Pump Station building, which had been slated for demolition, was restored. Today, it’s a museum and conference center, named in honor of Barnes.

Birmingham Water Works
The Birmingham Water Works reveals a new name for the conference center at the Cahaba Pumping Station.

According to Underwood, as chairman of the board, Barnes championed a summer work program for Birmingham-area high school students. The students often shadowed professionals in labs, along with engineers, accountants, and others.

Norm Davis, a leader in Birmingham civic and financial community, says he met Barnes in the early 1990s.

“Our friendship grew as he served as head of the Water Works and I was chairman of the Housing Authority of Birmingham,” Davis says.

“He was a pioneer. He left his job at the Post Office and went into real estate,” remembers Davis. “He built the largest black-owned real estate company in the state.”

Davis thinks Barnes was a successful businessman because he cared about people. “That’s what people will remember most about him,” Davis says.