Having been in this situation myself, I believe improbable that a designer will design a plant so defficient. Generally they accuse the designer when the problem is in maintenance and operation. Probably they are unable to operate the plant.
Jefferson County corruption is on all levels. The financing of the works was corrupt - the banks paid to officials to include in the contracts (very) small letter penalty conditions, that doubled the debt. The contracting was inept as well corrupt. Many people involved is in jail. The 500 employees of the system average 60,000 dollar p.a. salaries, which seem excessive for the poorest State of the USA. The average national salary in public service is $41,000 per year plus benefits and job security. Yet one could argue that Alabama sewage workers are underpaid -- NYC trash collectors pull $67,000 per year not including overtime.
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Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas are poorer than Alabama, at least according to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_income).
The city of Birmingham is poor, but some of the suburbs are quite well-to-do. At least since the 1960's, the city has largely been African-American, and the suburbs have been much whiter.
Having made the above comment, the city is less at fault for the current crisis than corruption in the county government, as you said.
Like everything else in America, there's a hidden racial subtext that will never appear in the mainstream media. Just like the educational failures of the inner city schools, the cause will be a mystery, a puzzlement.
K
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