Panel Selected to Assess Atlanta’s Aging Infrastructure

ATLANTA — As the construction dust settles on water main repairs that wreaked havoc across the city, Atlanta residents are expressing concerns about how quickly it could happen again.

“I think we need to send people underground and see what happens just to be sure,” Donald Rowe told 11Alive.

RELATED: Water pipes that broke in Atlanta were nearly 100 years old, city says

“I think this is going to continue unless professionals come in and look at the situation to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” added Gary Miller.

That’s why Mayor Andre Dickens is appointing a group of experts to implement solutions. The group includes:

• Shirley Franklin, former mayor of Atlanta
• Katie Kirkpatrick, CEO of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
• Three Georgia Tech engineering professors
• Retired Army Major General Ronald Johnson

“The mayor is a Georgia Tech alumnus. He’s an engineer. He thinks about this from a systems approach,” said Johnson, current chief of staff and senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Georgia Tech. “I think Mayor Dickens was wise to put this panel together.”

Johnson served in the military for 32 years. He commanded a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team during the $18 billion reconstruction of Iraq.

“I was the commander helping the design contractors figure out what to do, including water infrastructure,” he said. “From a strategic standpoint, I know how the process works to get approvals for these different projects and how we have to do a lot of strategic planning and effort with Congress.”

He hopes to do the same with Atlanta’s aging infrastructure.

“How do we strategically repair infrastructure – without patching – while people are still living, driving and moving around?” » Johnson said. “We’re stuck with the infrastructure we have, and it’s all underground…I may not see the results of this in my lifetime, but our future generations will see the benefits.”

As they brainstorm and implement solutions, Johnson said these problems will likely continue to occur — but hopefully not to this magnitude. Atlanta has reported about 500 leaks or ruptures in the past year.

“It’s not something that people should panic about. This is the United States of America, we will find a way to overcome times when people need water,” he said. “What we should be thinking about right now is thank God the problem is fixed and hopefully now we can move forward strategically and actually invest in our infrastructure to fix it.”