A water pipe installed nearly a century ago in DeKalb County served the purpose at the time, but now it’s decades past its expected lifespan.
Water mains are supposed to be replaced every 50 to 70 years according to industry standards, but the one that burst this week on Clairmont Road was so old that the valves to shut off the water were much farther apart than modern standards dictate. And the part needed to repair it was nowhere to be found in metro Atlanta.
That’s how the 30-inch water main that broke Tuesday near DeKalb-Peachtree Airport became the latest example of the county’s historical failure to invest in its water infrastructure.
The break triggered a multi-day boil water advisory, which remains in effect, and the closure of the busy road. It took until Thursday afternoon to complete the repairs.
The aging system — and that 1941 pipe — prolonged the process, county Commissioner Ted Terry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.
Shutoff valves, like spigots, are used in water distribution systems to contain damage. But there were none in the area to turn off the water that was leaking from the broken main, said Terry, who represents the affected area and sits on the commission’s Public Works and Infrastructure committee.
The leaking water filled the hole where the World War II-era cast iron main was located, and it had to be drained before crews could start the repairs. The pipe is one of four that carry nearly 85% of the county’s water from the Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant.
When the main broke, the nearest valves were a mile away in one direction and two miles away in the opposite direction, said Terry, who added that the distance problem was “a design flaw” likely caused by “how old this line is.”
Compounding the problem was that transmission pipes of that size are less common today, so the equipment needed to repair it was not readily available, the commissioner added.
“There’s just no way to get the water out faster without seriously breaking the pipe, which would have been a much more expensive repair,” he said.
Almost 8,800 households ― or an estimated 20,000 people ― in the Toco Hill neighborhood and surrounding area had low to no water pressure starting Tuesday night, prompting the boil water advisory in that area, even though it was about five miles south of the break. The advisory remained in effect Thursday, and officials said “residents may experience some slight fluctuations in their water pressure and possible discoloration as the system stabilizes.”
The problem mirrors the conundrum last May in Midtown Atlanta, where a broken main on West Peachtree Street allowed a geyser of water to gush out unabated for days — part of a crisis that included multiple breaks in the city. An AJC investigation found that Atlanta had failed to maintain its thousands of shutoff valves buried below the city and that several crucial valves didn’t work. Police had to escort a temporary valve from Alabama.
The deteriorating state of metro Atlanta’s water and sewer systems has been a major concern over the years. In just five years, 40% of DeKalb’s water pipes will be at least 70 years old, according to a 2024 study.
It will cost the county roughly $4.4 billion to replace the system, the study found. From 2017 through last year, DeKalb spent $500 million on fixes to the water distribution system and $725 million on the sewer system.
On Tuesday, as crews raced to repair the water main, county staff introduced a proposal to more than double water and sewer rates over the next decade. Rates would go up by 8% on May 1 and 8% every year thereafter through 2034. That means the average monthly residential water bill would increase from $70 now to $151.12 by 2034.
The rate increases would fund a $375 million bond issue that would pay for critical repairs to the water treatment plant and other priority projects, as well as help fund the watershed department’s $3 billion capital improvement plan.
DeKalb is already under a federal consent decree that mandates $1 billion worth of improvements to the sewer system by 2027. But the county’s history of underinvestment and mismanagement extends to the water system, too.
Across the Southeast, water utilities had an average of 16 water main breaks per 100 miles of pipe, the American Water Works Association found. In DeKalb, that rate is 33 and was deemed “excessive” by the water system study.
The watershed’s capital improvement plan would help the system meet the industry standard for annual water and sewer line replacement. But the county would still need more money, and it plans on pulling that from grants and other funding sources.
It hasn’t only been the pace of repairs that has frustrated residents. The county’s communication about the status and timeline has also caused headaches, especially for the small businesses that had to close as Clairmont Road was shut down in both directions.
On Thursday morning, the watershed department’s hotline erroneously advised residents of Candler Park and East Lake, in Atlanta, to boil water. A map of the area under the boil water advisory included much of Atlanta.
Terry, an ally of new county CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson who has both praised and criticized her predecessor, Michael Thurmond, said Cochran-Johnson inherited flawed communications practices and has not had time to change them. Cochran-Johnson took office on New Year’s Day.
The commissioner said he has been pushing out the county’s information via his own social media and email lists, targeted to residents and business owners in the affected area.
“These things are common occurrences at this point because the water and sewer infrastructure is so battered,” he said. “You fix one problem, two more pop up, right? We’re fixing the little issues without fixing the whole thing.”
