Let’s bite the bullet now instead of drinking dirty water later

DeKalb County has long been under federal scrutiny for failing to stop sewage overflows in violation of both the Clean Water Act and our residents’ noses. The county is currently under a federal consent decree but consistently has failed to comply with the agreement’s stipulations.

Before former CEO Michael Thurmond left office, he warned that the county needs “more time and more money.” After extensive consideration of rate hikes over the past year, they never came.

But they are coming; they have to.

DeKalb County’s new CEO, Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, will undertake a difficult but necessary action, raising people’s water bills. It was a point of contention in the CEO runoff debate in June, with Cochran-Johnson honestly admitting that infrastructure changes were critical and would require rate increases and federal support. The Trump administration and whatever “DOGE” has become is beyond unlikely to support sewer and water infrastructure in DeKalb.

But time and time again, we are reminded of what is beneath our feet.

With a weeklong water main break in Brookhaven in January and the memorable fiasco last summer in Atlanta when a 108-year-old pipe ruptured on Peachtree, the problem is becoming increasingly apparent. People often don’t consider water infrastructure until they can’t take a shower, they are under a boil water advisory or their neighborhood reeks of human feces because of a sewer overflow.

DeKalb County is considering a plan to raise water rates by 8 to 10% each year over the next 10 years. Admittedly, that doesn’t sound great. But the best decisions aren’t easy, and if there is one thing that everyone in DeKalb truly has in common, it’s drinking and bathing in the same water.

We all drink from the same well. If that isn’t enough, the county is still at risk of legal liability for sewer overflows.

This is also an environmental justice issue.

With the Candler Water plant being in North DeKalb, development in South DeKalb has historically been stifled because of less water infrastructure. Today, the Snapfinger Wastewater Treatment Plant in South DeKalb is undergoing improvements to increase its capacity. However, the county is going to have to do and spend more in South DeKalb to stop sewage overflows.

Imagine that your neighborhood permeates the smell of raw sewage for weeks. Maybe then you will admit, it’s a good investment.

Considerate of the fact that higher bills will impact the most disadvantaged residents, Commissioner Ted Terry has thoughtfully pursued the establishment of a Customer Advocacy Office to protect DeKalb residents.

Atlanta’s former mayor, Shirley Franklin, has proved to be a leader with great foresight. If you ever get to hear her speak, you might hear her reflect on how she ran for mayor with a vision of being the “public art mayor” but ended up as “the sewer mayor.”

Franklin invested $2 billion to fix sewage overflow issues and $1 billion in drinking water infrastructure. It takes thoughtful leaders to make tough decisions that might not be politically advantageous but deeply necessary.

You don’t see water infrastructure right in front of your eyes daily, but you do feel its impact when you shower.

There are more than 5,000 miles of water and sewage pipes in DeKalb County. Some of those pipes are the exact same as those built in Candler’s Folly in 1942. Any money toward the water and sewer systems in DeKalb County is money well spent.

This is the time for hard decisions. Franklin boasts about being the sewer mayor, and I do not think anyone would ridicule Candler’s efforts as foolish today.

Ahead of proposed rate hikes, CEO Cochran-Johnson has been holding town halls across DeKalb to listen to residents’ concerns and offer a solution to DeKalb’s’ unfortunate reality.

During her town hall in my hometown of Dunwoody, Cochran-Johnson noted that in DeKalb County we have three water breaks each day and more than a thousand each year.

It’s better to bite the bullet now than to find yourself drinking dirty water later. DeKalb should support our new CEO as she makes a difficult but necessary decision for our county.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Parker Short is the former President of the Young Democrats of Georgia and a graduate of DeKalb County Schools and University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. Short represented Georgia’s 4th Congressional District as a delegate at the 2024 DNC, serves as a member of the Georgia Democratic Party State Committee, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Policy at Duke. He has worked in the state, local, and federal government.