Hundreds of businesses seek funds for water main breaks

ATLANTA — When Atlanta businesses were forced to close for days due to a water crisis that wreaked havoc across the city, a grant was created for small businesses that needed help following the issues in May.

Invest Atlanta notified the city Tuesday after the application process for a grant for small businesses affected by Atlanta’s water main breaks was completed. The small business funding application was filed Monday.

The city of Atlanta previously reported that the outage affected 6,900 small businesses.

As of Tuesday, Invest Atlanta reported receiving 894 applications, with 535 people completing the City of Atlanta Recovery Fund application.

Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, did not specify which companies had applied, but Invest Atlanta said it would prioritize businesses most directly impacted, such as daycares, restaurants, salons and spas.

“We were thrilled to see the response rate,” Klementich said. “The number of people who started and completed was 67 percent, which is the highest rate we’ve ever seen.”

Klementich said Invest Atlanta is now working to evaluate the information and distribute the funds as quickly as possible.

According to its website, Invest Atlanta is expected to notify winners the week of July 29.

The funds are expected to be released before the end of August.