Atlanta’s water crisis puts the city under the microscope

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Five days later, thousands of residents were still under a boil water advisory as of Tuesday afternoon.

In recent years, Atlanta has enjoyed job growth, a construction boom and the attraction of marquee events like next year’s College Football Playoff National Championship and 2026 World Cup matches. Atlanta is also in the running to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027, which attracts hundreds of thousands of film industry professionals and spectators each year.

The Rev. Keyanna Jones Moore, co-pastor of Park Avenue Baptist Church in Grant Park, said city leaders can’t ignore Atlanta’s founding while continuing growth.

“Atlanta wants to look shiny and new on the outside, but on the inside we are dead and decrepit. And it impacts our community,” she said outside Monday’s city council meeting.

The series of pipe bursts will add to Atlanta’s list of notorious infrastructure incidents that won’t soon be forgotten.

Site selection expert John Boyd, who works with companies to determine the best location for their operations, said competition between states to win corporate relocations and major events is the most intense she ever was. Boyd calls it the “second war between the states.”

While businesses and event planners with an interest in Atlanta will take note and may be put on pause by concerns over shoddy infrastructure, business leaders and city stakeholders stress that Atlanta will bounce back.

“Overall, this will just be a blip on the radar screen,” Boyd said.

Past challenges

The 2014 “Snowpocalypse” that took over city highways for days casting doubt on Atlanta’s preparation for winter. The 2017 fire that caused the collapse of the I-85 viaduct exacerbated traffic problems in a city known for its traffic jams. The 11-hour blackout at the world’s busiest airport in 2018 also created an international logistical nightmare.

Central Atlanta Progress President and CEO AJ Robinson said the city faces tougher problems than one-off infrastructure failures. He said other issues such as tornadoes and violent protests appear to have a long-term negative impact on the city. But the growth of the city’s hotel sector, as well as that of the residential and office markets, indicates that these changes have not had a lasting effect.

The city’s infrastructure is extremely strong in some areas, Robinson said. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest airport in the world. But over the past 100 years, the city has neglected its sewer and water systems.

“I think this is an example that there is ongoing work that needs to take place,” Robinson said.

Atlanta is a premier host for many events and a top destination for Fortune 500 companies looking to relocate or expand. Over the past decade, Microsoft, Google and Visa, among other fintech, retail and entertainment giants, have established offices in Midtown.

Katie Kirkpatrick, CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, which is responsible for representing the region’s business interests, said any major infrastructure challenges are likely to impact business recruitment.

“Water infrastructure, although the least visible, is perhaps the most critical,” Kirkpatrick said Tuesday.

Credit: Video

Credit: Video

Boyd, the site selection consultant, said the business community expects a return on its tax dollars and will closely monitor the response to problems such as water main breaks main. They are generally attentive to the city’s emergency and cooperation between departments.

Credit: John Spink / [email protected]

Credit: John Spink / [email protected]

Atlanta largely failed that test, at least initially, Boyd said. The city and Department of Watershed Management issued an alert at 8 p.m., a few hours after the first outage, and waited another 12 hours to send another update. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was attending a fundraiser in Memphis Friday night and didn’t return to Atlanta until Saturday morning, holding his first public briefing that afternoon. Dickens apologized for the lack of communication.

“Disaster preparedness and communications during reconstruction are a critical responsibility of city government,” Boyd said. “That’s what business measures.”

“Stand up to take on a challenge”

Outdated water infrastructure is not a problem unique to Atlanta. The water pipes in hundreds of communities across the country are too old and overloaded. Atlanta has a mix of old infrastructure in some places and a construction boom.

In Midtown alone, 46 skyscrapers were added between 2018 and 2024, according to the civic and business group Midtown Alliance, and 20 more have been proposed or begun construction. During this period, the city’s population increased by approximately 100,000 people.

The effects of the water main breaks are still being felt and only time will tell what the full impact of the break will be. But the weekend demonstrated the community’s resilience, CAP’s Robinson said.

Credit: John Spink/AJC

Credit: John Spink/AJC

Restaurants have found a way to serve their customers by paring down their menu, starting prep times in advance and providing portable restrooms. The Fox Theater served bottled water to guests at a wedding reception Saturday evening. Volunteers from across the city distributed food and water to residents whose service was interrupted.

“Atlanta is resilient and has a reputation for overcoming challenges,” Kirkpatrick said.

-Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this report.