One year after water main breaks, Atlanta prepares for future systemwide needs

Axios

a day ago

Saturday marks one year since two large water main breaks stymied most of Atlanta, and the city has spent the last 12 months working on a long-term plan it hopes will prevent similar catastrophes from happening in the future.
Why it matters: Atlanta's aging water infrastructure system is in dire need of an overhaul, and city officials will have to determine whether an increase in rates or a new fee will help fund the improvements.
The latest: In an interview with Axios, Atlanta chief strategy officer Peter Aman said Thursday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is about halfway through its task of assessing the state of the city's drinking water system.
The corps is reviewing data, including where breaks have happened in the past, to determine which parts of the system should be prioritized.
Aman said the corps' work should be done by the end of the year. In the meantime, the city will explore what path to take to fund any of those projects.
What they're saying: Even if the city had billions of dollars, it wouldn't be able to fix every problem main or valve at once, Aman told Axios.
"There's only so many streets you want to tear up and so many bulldozers you want to to rent," he said. "You want to prioritize it where you're going to have your largest, most impactful leaks."
Between the lines: Department of Watershed Commissioner Greg Eyerly told Axios that most of the revenue the city collected from the 1% Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST) has gone toward projects that put the city in compliance with a federal consent decree to improve its sewer system.
"It's very expensive (and) Atlanta's rates have been very high for a long time," Eyerly said. "And (with) the amount of breathing room you have …Atlanta has been closer to that ceiling than a lot of other similar-sized communities."
Follow the money: Mayor Andre Dickens said in March that the city would need around $2 billion to upgrade its aging infrastructure.
Aman said that number could change but the city already knows a total system replacement won't be necessary.
As far as funding, Aman stressed that everything was being explored, including a potential water and sewer rate hike and a possible stormwater utility fee.
Catch up quick: The water main break that started it all happened the morning of May 31, 2024, on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and James P. Brawley Drive, in Vine City. Another break occurred several hours later in Midtown, at 11th and West Peachtree streets.
Businesses and neighborhoods in Midtown, Downtown and to the east and west were left without water, and many residents took to social media to express frustration at the lack of information provided by the city.
The big picture: "The mayor has made it crystal clear that external communication is absolutely a top priority, and we will never again have a situation where there's any gaps or lack of information being passed along," Aman said.
Now, Atlanta strives to push out water main break details to the public, even if crews are unsure of the precise location, and info on where affected residents can pick up water during an outage.
State of play: The city is still utilizing AI technology to detect leaks sooner and deploy fixes quicker.
Aman said the city installed hundreds of devices at more than 1,600 locations since last year's breaks.
They were able to detect eight "significant" leaks in the system. Repairs for six have been completed and work on the remaining two is still ongoing, Eyerly said.
What's next: Eyerly said the city is also exploring technology that will give Atlanta water customers real-time data about their water usage, potentially leading to more consistent water billing.