Water Problems in Atlanta | Business Relief Fund

ATLANTA — There’s some very good news for people who saw thousands of dollars in lost revenue just a few weeks ago when the city experienced several major water main breaks.

The Atlanta City Council voted last Monday to allocate $7.5 million to help fill the gap for small business owners. The money comes from the Ministry of Watershed Management’s budget. The town hall indicated that unused funds as of June 30, 2025 will be returned to the Water and Wastewater Revenue Fund.

However, one of the businesses directly affected by the city’s water crisis was the Steam House Lounge on West Peachtree Street. Holly Webb with the restaurant said one of the water main breaks was right across the street from the business.

“Luckily we didn’t suffer any damage, but our staff was out of work for a week and it was actually quite difficult financially for them,” Webb said.

Webb also said they plan to apply for funding and already have a good idea of ​​what will be done with the money.

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“We will use the money, some of it to take care of our staff. We have a really good team that’s always been there for us, and we’re definitely going to use that to help some of them out,” Webb said.

Stir House Atlanta, on Broad Street, was another business affected by the water crisis. Co-owner Antonio Brown said he also lost about $9,000 during the crisis, but was grateful to the city for helping him.

“I congratulate Mayor Andre Dickens. I applaud Invest Atlanta and Councilor Westmoreland for all coming together to support small businesses like ours,” Brown said.

Applications will be accepted from June 24 to July 8. The winners will be informed before July 29. More details can be found in this document and on the Invest Atlanta website.

For business owners like Brown, it’s a sigh of relief. As he stated: “The city didn’t have to do it, but they did it. And to me, that means everything to us. »