Midtown repairs continue, Army Corps of Engineers called in as water crisis enters fifth day
Repairs to a major water main break in Midtown continued on Tuesday morning as Atlanta’s unprecedented water crisis moves into a fifth day.
At 6 a.m., Atlanta Watershed posted on social media that work crews were preparing to install the last piece of a 30-inch pipe at 11th and West Peachtree streets. No timeline was given or completion.
Commuters can expect detours around the area of 11th and West Peachtree as repair work continues.
Watershed Commissioner Al Wiggins told the Atlanta City Council on Monday that repairs could be completed by nightfall, but the night came and went without any further communication from the city.
Atlanta Watershed and the city faced mounting criticism – even from members of the city council – about the lack of updates and communication to the public.
Wiggins also said Monday that additional parts had to be sourced from Gwinnett County and were being installed at the corner of 11th and West Peachtree streets, where the rupture sent a 10-foot geyser of water into the air for three days.
Wiggins said once repairs were complete, the system would have to be repressurized and a boil water advisory would remain in place.
A revised boil water advisory map was released Monday evening, but still includes a substantial portion of Downtown, Midtown, and East Atlanta.
Residents can also check if they are affected by the boil advisory using this interactive map.
Since 1 a.m. on Monday, water has been shut off on 11th Street between West Peachtree and Peachtree Streets as well as a stretch of West Peachtree between 10th to 12th Streets.
The water outage is a lingering hangover from a weekend of water main breaks that made most of the city’s taps go dry, shuttering restaurants and businesses and postponing major events.
Mayor Andre Dickens appeared before the city council to discuss a “weekend like no other” and announced that he was calling in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist with Atlanta’s ongoing water crisis.
He said the engineers would have “boots on the ground” Tuesday to identify and address the vulnerabilities of the city’s water system.
A “recovery fund” to assist small business owners impacted by the city of Atlanta’s water crisis is being established by the city.
Dickens told the city council that the new recovery fund would help small businesses “adversely affected” by the water woes that started Friday.
Councilmember Matt Westmoreland introduced the legislation to create the recovery fund. It calls for up to $5 million of city funds be transferred to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
