Atlanta’s water crisis is a big ask from Biden

Despite being arguably the most crucial state in the 2020 election, Georgia isn’t even among the Biden administration’s top 10 most funded states. Of the billions of dollars allocated to the state of Georgia, most of which goes toward maintaining roads and bridges, very little goes toward water infrastructure. Of those funds, $510 million is dedicated to clean water and $95.5 million to water pipe restoration across the state.

Consider that much of the damage caused by water main breaks took place in black communities that were built during the Jim Crow era as deliberate floodplains for white neighborhoods and businesses. The ongoing flooding, burst pipes, and sewage overflows are the result of structural racism and intentional neglect. And despite the increase in new residents and real estate developments, the lingering effects of these past decisions remain, harming the city more than ever.

Gentrification, redevelopment, and new construction projects have significantly altered Atlanta’s landscape, making the need for corresponding infrastructure more pressing than ever. Atlanta is still a low-density city, but it faces a future in which the downtown and region will have much greater capacity than today – and that capacity will require significant infrastructure investments to respond to the request.

For an administration that wants to have the cake and eat it too – building more, funding communities, tackling costly infrastructure projects, and addressing past inequalities – investing in Atlanta’s infrastructure would be a show of support more important and more tangible.

Atlanta is the economic pillar of the region, and the billions allocated to solving contemporary problems are not enough. The city has allocated $1.6 billion in funds to address the water problems, but identifies another, larger need of $8.7 billion in system repairs. This is in addition to the other needs of the metropolitan region. Atlanta’s neighbor DeKalb County is looking to increase spending on water issues.

A recent estimate indicates that it would cost $200 million per year for 30 years to repair and rebuild metro Atlanta’s water infrastructure. From a macro perspective, a joint proposal to secure additional funding for Atlanta, Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties could be the Biden administration’s true infrastructure legacy, doing more than no matter which of the previous presidents and governors combined.

Given the current lukewarm poll numbers, instead of holding repeat meetings in Atlanta, he could revive his campaign in Georgia by adequately funding the state that helped him get into the White House in the first place.

King Williams is a freelance journalist in Atlanta. He writes primarily for The Atlanta Voice, Atlanta Magazine and Decaturish. It also offers an e-newsletter, The Breakdown with King Williams, which can be found at: iamkingwilliams.substack.com.