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Atlanta water crisis sheds light on city's aging infrastructure

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Published  June 5, 2024 6:24pm EDT
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta water crisis: What the city has learned

After five agonizing days in parts of Atlanta, water service has been restored but serious challenges remain. The mayor says it is important to get in front of our city's aging infrastructure system and he has several ideas on how to do that.

ATLANTA - The Atlanta water crisis has finally come to an end. Water service has reportedly been restored to all Atlanta residents. The City is hoping to turn the page on what was a very tough five days following several major water main breaks.

FULL TIMELINE ON ATLANTA WATER MAIN BREAKS

The mayor says it is important to get in front of our city's aging infrastructure system, and he has several ideas on how to do that.

RELATED NEWS: Where was Mayor Andre Dickens during Atlanta water crisis?

City officials held a news conference Wednesday morning.

"The infrastructure across America has a C-rating in water infrastructure, which is why it is helpful to have partners at the White House that we call, and our senators, to be able to get the Army Corps of Engineers here to help us get this under control for the future.," Mayor Dickens said.

The latest water main break at 11th Street and West Peachtree proved to be extremely challenging, leaving numerous businesses like the 11th Street Pub, Steamhouse lounge, a hotel and even residents without water for days.

RELATED NEWS: Atlanta businesses await mayor's $5 million relief amid water crisis

"The ruptured line has been repaired. All of our customers impacted by the main break now have water service," Water Commissioner Al Wiggins said.

Wiggins said the valve for the line was under the water main break and very difficult to find.

Atlanta water crisis: Water is flowing again

While a boil water advisory remains in effect for portions of the city, Atlanta water has been turned back on after nearly a week after multiple water main breaks.

City officials also displayed a new device they will use in Midtown and Southwest Atlanta that will detect leaks early and keep Watershed Management ahead of mammoth problems like this, particularly as international visitors head to Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

"Now we are working on identifying ways we can prevent this from happening again. This device in my hand helps us to detect leaks earlier on," Commissioner Wiggins explained. "Not only does it detect the leak, it will detect the size of the leak."

Mayor Dickens said he realizes this will cost an astronomical amount of money. We're talking about billions of dollars.

He said FEMA and a newly formed Blue Ribbon Panel with Mayor Shirley Franklin and others will focus solely on infrastructure to make sure we are providing clean water to our residents and our visitors in the future.

Dickens promised Atlanta would be ready for international visitors in 2026.

"We feel confident that we will be ready for the World Cup. We don't want anyone to be concerned about that. This was a good wake-up call to have checks on your system and redundancy," Mayor Dickens concluded.

Many of the businesses near 11th Street and West Peachtree are still not open. They are waiting for the boil water advisory to be lifted.