Why Atlanta Water Repairs Take So Long

As of Friday morning, the intersection of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard near JP Brawley Drive has become one of Atlanta’s most important cross streets.

It is the convergence point of three main water mains which serve much of the city. And that’s where a 48-inch line and a 36-inch transmission line burst Friday morning, and the repairs that followed left many Atlantans without water or with very low pressure from their faucets.

So what happened and why is the repair taking so long? Essentially, the city is working on old pipes laid out in an old pattern, said Al Wiggins, Jr., commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management (DWM).

The pipes that burst were made of steel and were more than 80 years old, Wiggins said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. He said he did not know when they were last replaced, but said there had been other watershed works in the area in 2019.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

The way the pipes were put together was not “the most efficient alignment,” Wiggins said. “As a result, a leak occurred and caused this pipe to corrode.”

Access to pipes for repairs is also difficult due to design and limited space.

“Because of this strict confinement, it’s very difficult to get the proper alignment with these pipes,” Wiggins said. “This is large pipes, and it requires only one person to work in the manhole during that time, which is a significant degree of complexity.”

Aging pipes are a blight on many U.S. cities, and many choose to replace them in stages because of the expense and time required to do the work, according to a 2023 study by University professor Steven L. Barfuss of Utah State. The study also indicates that the American Society of Civil Engineers gave water infrastructure in the United States a C-minus grade in 2021. Barfuss said in his 2023 study that 20% of water pipes must be replaced, for an amount of 452 billion dollars.

Atlantans seem to recognize the challenge. Earlier this month, Atlanta voters supported the 1 percent sales tax that funds water and sewer projects for another four years. The renewed tax is estimated to raise about $1.1 billion over the next four years. It will come into force in October and will last until September 2028.

The lines at Boone and Brawley weren’t the only ones to break Friday and Saturday in Atlanta. Repairs are underway to pipes at the intersection of West Peachtree Street and 11th Street in downtown, which Mayor Andre Dickens called a “major break.”

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

But it’s the pipes under Boone Boulevard that are causing most of the ongoing problems, as all three lines that intersect there had to be shut down to allow for repairs, Dickens said.

It’s unclear how many residents were left without water, as some locations on a line may have multiple businesses. There are no defined geographic boundaries because different areas of the city are served by the pipelines, Wiggins said. The DWM provides water to more than 1.2 million people, the division says on its website under “Fun Facts.”

Atlanta has about 3,000 linear miles of pipeline, and DWM is “continuously replacing aging pipelines,” according to Wiggins. But the Boone and Brawley area was not previously slated for repairs because the department had not collected any information indicating it needed to do major work, he said.

Crews repairing these pipes are now creating a different configuration to avoid such a major disruption to the city again.

But in the meantime, many Atlantans have had to turn to bottled water or stay with relatives in other cities just to have a flush toilet or brush their teeth safely. The Atlanta Fire Department provided portable toilets and bottled water to four fire stations. According to Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith, code enforcement officers are making regular rounds of downtown hotels and businesses that have been affected and checking on elderly residents.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

“We also do rounds at local hospitals, those critical areas that have chillers that might need our help to provide them with water or to help cool operations in the data centers,” Smith said.

And residents and businesses aren’t the only ones affected. Some police stations and the 911 center are in areas without water, and the Atlanta Police Department has had to provide additional water, food and toilets to those locations, the chief said. APD, Darin Schierbaum. Police recruits also scoured senior high-rises and other areas of the city to make sure they had what they needed from the city.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Report for America are partnering to recruit more journalists to cover stories important to our community. Please help us fund this important work here.