How to Apply for a GEMA Small Business Loan Atlanta Water Main Breaks

GEORGIA, USA — A low-interest loan is now available for businesses affected by the Atlanta water main break crisis.

The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency announced the new option Wednesday.

The loan only applies to businesses affected by water main breaks from May 31 to June 6.

Atlanta city officials previously said the outage affected 6,900 small businesses. Atlanta businesses were forced to close for days after the water crisis wreaked havoc across the city, drawing attention to the city and the nation’s aging water infrastructure.

GEMA said in a news release that the loan is available to small businesses in 11 metro Georgia counties. Here is a list of the counties:

1. Cobb
2. Cherokee
3. Fulton
4. Carroll
5. Clayton
6. Coweta
7. DeKalb
8. Douglas
9. Fayette
10. Forsyth
11. Gwinnett

GEMA said economic injury disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will also be available soon.

The move comes after applications closed for the city of Atlanta’s water relief fund, which will provide a number of grants to small business owners who were under a boil water advisory during the crisis.

Invest Atlanta said it received 894 applications, with 535 people completing the City of Atlanta Recovery Fund application.

Applications are now open and small business owners can begin applying.

According to GEMA, applicants can apply online using the electronic loan application through the Small Business Association website.

Click here to apply online.

Small business owners can also contact the SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by emailing [email protected] or calling 1-800-659-2955.

The application deadline is April 10, 2025.

You can request help online here.