Atlanta’s water system is getting an upgrade that Atlanta Department of Watershed Management leaders say will help contain or even prevent potential water outages.
Channel 2’s Wendy Corona spoke to leaders at Atlanta Watershed who walked her through millions of dollars in new investments to upgrade the heart of the water system and repair problematic pipes before a main breaks.
“We have breaks almost every single day, if not several a day,” said Atlanta Watershed commissioner Greg Eyerly.
Despite the constant battle, Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management is working hard to prevent as many outages as they can.
The city is detecting leaks then making repairs to some of the city’s oldest pipes before they become a problem.
With visitors coming to Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup this June, city officials hope the work they’re doing now could help prevent a serious emergency when visitors are in the city.
“Will we have a water main break during that period?” Eyerly asked. " Yeah, we will; but will it impact the World Cup? No. We’re going to do everything we can to mitigate that possibility of a break."
The Atlanta Department of Watershed began working near downtown Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the epicenter of the World Cup.
“We feel the stress of the world coming to Atlanta,” Eyerly said. “All eyes are on us.”
The new wave of work began by identifying leaky pipes using a fleet of sound-based tools that can help them identify the condition of a pipe. The devices, called FIDO units, detect sound waves and interpret pitches to collect data on a pipe’s condition.
Hundreds of FIDO units were deployed starting downtown near the stadium and working their way out. Eventually, similar projects will extend to the rest of Atlanta Watershed’s service area.
While not every break starts with a leak, Eyerly said it gives the team a starting point to identify the worst pipes. From there, they can make targeted repairs that let them mitigate any breaks that may occur.
“Breaks are something that we live with, every city does,” Eyerly said. “Every system has breaks, so it’s our ability to reduce those breaks and reduce the impacts of those breaks and repair them more quickly when we have them.”
In many cases, that starts with working on valves that let the city isolate breaks and keep the city moving. Valve work is at the heart of projects like the one near the Georgia Tech campus on 8th Street.
When old valves fail, the ability to limit a break’s impact can fail.
That’s what happened two years ago when a wave of breaks disrupted struck Midtown, closing streets and damaging local businesses.
Those breaks started a domino effect that those who work in Midtown remember all too well.
“The water shot asphalt through the windows and then water started pouring in the bar,” said Jay Carter, a bartender at Eleventh Street Pub. “Almost all the equipment had to be replaced.”
Only a reclaimed wood table remains from the original furniture and equipment. Carter had to wait nearly two months before repairs were made and he could return to work.
The pub is just feet from one of the worst water main breaks from the wave of outages that hit the city in May and June of 2024.
According to Atlanta Watershed leaders, that outage was made worse by failing valves.
“I go back to the situation that happened almost two years ago,” said Hugh Smith, an assistant commissioner for the Department of Watershed Management. “The ability to isolate segments of the system is paramount when you’re dealing with main breaks. That is your lifeline.”
Smith showed Channel 2 Action News around the project on Georgia Tech’s campus near the intersection of 10th Street and Hemphill Street where valve replacements were underway.
“This line stop is being used to allow us to replace some valves that are broken,” Smith said. “The goal of this project was to go in and replace a broken 36-inch-main valve.”
The finished project will let the city contain water main breaks in that area, limiting their impact on the customers.
And an even bigger investment is happening at the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant at the heart of Atlanta Watershed’s service area. For more than 130 years, the water treatment plant in Midtown has provided safe drinking water while also collecting and treating wastewater.
Now, an $18 million investment into improvements at the facility aims to keep power on, pressure in the pipes and water flowing ahead of the World Cup.
Quinton Fletcher is the deputy commissioner for the Office of Water Treatment and Reclamation. He explained how the investments will help the city provide reliable water service through their pumped water system.
“These automatic generators will come on within three minutes and provide backup power to the water treatment plant and pump station,” Fletcher said.
And along with the valve replacement across downtown, Atlanta Watershed is transforming their water system: both for the FIFA World Cup and for growth in the years ahead.
Both are quick solutions to respond to disruptions under pressure both literally and psychologically.
“You have to have pressure in your system,” Fletcher said. “You don’t want to have to move forward with a boil water advisory.”
It’s all part of updating the city’s historic infrastructure for the modern world.
“I’ve seen what almost would be artwork in regards to the bricks and how they’re laid by craftsman from years ago,” Smith said.
“Those changes that we’re investing in now, we’ll continue to do those investments for the next several decades ahead of us,” said Eyerly. “The changes we’re making for FIFA, getting ready for the world, they’re for Atlanta.”
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