Retired major general prepares to lead Atlanta in water system overhaul – WSB-TV Channel 2

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He spoke to Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco Thursday during WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.

“I never back down from a challenge,” Johnson said.

He will be on the panel with Katie Kilpatrick, CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and former Mayor Shirley Franklin.

“I was responsible for the $18.4 billion reconstruction of Iraq,” Johnson said. “I think about $3 billion was for their water and sewer infrastructure.”

Last Friday he saw his hometown experience a power outage like never before. More than 220 neighborhoods were in difficulty for the day.

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The problem is so bad that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in Atlanta assessing the infrastructure.

Before retiring, Johnson was the second-highest-ranking engineer there.

“We have expertise in all areas of engineering. We don’t do a lot of work. That’s what intellectual power is,” Johnson said.

This team will transmit its recommendations to the group of experts who will then implement them.

“I would be happy to help them orchestrate, lead, give a strategic perspective, help them understand how it works from getting a project to getting Congressional authorization and getting the credits,” Johnson said.

Other members of his team will bring backgrounds in civil engineering, business and legendary urban leadership. However, Johnson said they likely wouldn’t be the last to lead the panel.

He said an overhaul on this scale would take decades.

“Atlanta is part of my nation, part of my home. It will feel really special to help us solve this problem even though, once it’s solved, I probably won’t have the benefit of seeing it, Johnson said. “But my godchildren, my son, the students that I taught, they will definitely benefit from it, and it will be nice to say that I had something to do with it.”

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