Following days of disruptions, repairs and communication woes, water service was restored across Atlanta on Wednesday morning, Mayor Andre Dickens said.
“We are pleased to announce that water service has been fully restored across our city. Our dedicated teams have worked tirelessly to resolve the issue, and I applaud them for their service,” Dickens said. “We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our residents and businesses during this challenging time. Together, we have demonstrated the resilience that defines our city.”
The announcement was made hours after crews filed in the chasm on West Peachtree Street and 11th Street during repairs to the broken Midtown water main. Workers were still at the scene Wednesday, and the city said the system was being brought back online slowly to “allow system pressures to build.”
But with boil water advisories still in effect, Atlanta Public Schools announced that, for the third day, summer schools and programming would be canceled at a number of locations. Two Fulton County Board of Health facilities at 10 Park Place and 3700 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will also be closed, officials said, with patients advised to visit other clinics at 186 Sunset Avenue and 1920 John Wesley Avenue.
“DWM is following its flushing protocols for the water system as a precautionary measure and has tested the affected zones to confirm that the public water in the system is safe for all purposes. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division will inform the Department of Watershed Management when the advisory can be lifted,” the city added.
According to the city, residents can check online to see if they are still under a boil water advisory.
“We know this disruption wasn’t easy for you, and we appreciate your patience and understanding,” Dickens said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
Credit: WSB-TV Atlanta
Dickens also thanked those throughout the city who assisted with not only repairing breaks, but also checking on vulnerable residents throughout the ordeal.
Watershed Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. said testing the water samples is required and takes 18 hours. The work continues with checking repairs, he said.
“There is more work to be done,” Wiggins said.
Crews worked all of Tuesday and into Wednesday at the Midtown site, one of two significant breaks since Friday afternoon that left thousands with little or no pressure and many other residents forced to boil water.
Businesses have also been impacted, including popular seafood restaurant Steamhouse Lounge, located within feet of the repaired main in Midtown. Owner Sam Weyman said Wednesday that he likely lost about $60,000 during the outages as his business was forced to close. He appeared tired and happy to learn things were getting back to normal, despite barriers preventing customers, including his regulars, from getting onto West Peachtree Street around 7:30 a.m. Both the road and 11th Street remain closed.
“I’m trying to open up my business,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Officials had expected water service to resume between 7 and 11 am. Wednesday. In a statement, the city apologized to those “affected by this unexpected disruption.”
“We know how important water is to our citizens’ daily lives and understand your frustrations with the situation,” the statement added. “Therefore, the City of Atlanta extends its gratitude to you for bearing with us during this time.”
The mayor made an appearance along West Peachtree on Tuesday, when a 30-inch pipe was successfully lowered into the hole.
“Concrete was poured around the high max coupling. Backfill with 57 stone. Turning on smaller valves on 11th St. Water is on at the Marriott Residence Inn and Eleventh Street Pub. Gradually charging the system,” the city said at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
“Making progress,” Dickens told the AJC at the time. “(I’m) so ready for this to be over. So are the residents around here.”
Dickens’ office has been coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which confirmed Tuesday that assistance was headed to the area. The agency also announced it will work with city officials to consider the possibility of doing an assessment of the entire water system.
“We have sought their assistance because they have the most experience in handling a crisis like this,” the mayor stated. “They will help us develop a plan to assess and evaluate our aging infrastructure.”
Dickens has declared a state of emergency in Atlanta to free up resources for repairs. The city also earlier activated a joint operations center, improving the regularity of communications.
After a frustrating weekend, Monday also saw some relief for residents when officials announced the boil water advisory was lifted for those affected by the other significant break at Joseph E. Boone Boulevard near J.P. Brawley Drive, where 48-inch and 36-inch transmission lines ruptured. Those steel pipes were more than 80 years old, according to Wiggins.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
It was the first break to cause major water outages and low pressure for residents in a large swath of the city near downtown. Officials imposed a boil water advisory for people in those neighborhoods from Friday afternoon until Monday night. Subsequent breaks created further outages and boil water advisories that remain in effect in the areas around the East Atlanta neighborhood and in the area of West Peachtree and 11th streets, according to a city statement.
Repairs on a large, centrally located water line are difficult, multi-step processes, and each step takes hours to complete. A major setback to watershed crews happened when their initial repairs to that critical Boone junction didn’t work and they were forced to restart.
The broken main on West Peachtree posed a different type of challenge because the water shut-off valve was directly underneath the geyser seen at street level, city officials said. Watershed officials made the call to let the break flow through the day Saturday to minimize service interruptions in the area.
Water was seen gushing from the break until early Monday. On Sunday morning, some onlookers jokingly referred to it as the “aqua apocalypse” or the “West Peachtree River.”
Other main breaks were later found and repaired at 4370 Minkslide Drive, 1190 Atlantic Drive and the intersection of Euclid and North avenues in northeast Atlanta. On Monday, crews investigated a potential break near Clayton Road and Armour Drive and shut off an 8-inch pipe at Fairlock Lane that supplied water to 20 homes and a fire hydrant. They also reported another interruption at 472 Gartrell Street, where four homes, three hydrants and an apartment complex lost water.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
On Tuesday, officials said additional repairs were made at another address on Fairlock Lane that impacted the water service for 40 homes and businesses, as well as one hydrant. Emergency repairs were also made at 2256 Beecher Road, where water service was disrupted for 25 homes, one businesses and two hydrants.
On Monday, Emory Hospital Midtown and Grady Memorial Hospital announced things were back to normal, along with Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Sports and entertainment events also went on Sunday after previous cancellations.
— Staff writers Kelly Yamanouchi, Rosie Manins and Zachary Hansen and AJC audio producer Natalie Mendenhall contributed to this article.
