Crews continued to work on a broken water main on West Peachtree Street in Midtown, warning nearby residents of impacts to their water supply as the crisis reached its fourth day Monday.
Water flowed from the main, one of two major breaks in Atlanta, until Monday morning, when workers pumped water out.
“Attention residents! There will be an interruption of water service for essential maintenance,” the city of Atlanta wrote early Monday, adding that crews were shutting off a pair of 36-inch and 30-inch water lines. “Affected areas include: 11th St. from West Peachtree St. to Peachtree St. and West Peachtree St. from 10th St. to 12th St.”
Located across from the break on West Peachtree is Steamhouse Lounge, which will have to remain closed Monday, owner Sam Weyman said. He said he has tried to talk to police and city officials about the situation to no avail.
“Nothing happened (Sunday), nothing, zero, nothing, nothing,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday morning before heading to where the work was being done.
After hours of little to no communication from city officials following the numerous water main breaks in Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens spoke at a news conference along West Peachtree as crews worked behind him. But the mayor did not answer questions and was led away after a resident asked for a timetable for the repairs.
Dickens has drawn criticism for making his first public appearance Saturday afternoon, about 24 hours after many city residents experienced reduced water pressure or no service at all.
Atlanta City Council member Antonio Lewis acknowledged residents’ frustrations over the lack of information and said Monday that his team will adjust its communications strategy going forward.
“I think the way forward is to start solving our water problems and infrastructure now,” he said in an interview with WSB radio.
During the press conference, officials did not provide a timeline for when repairs would be completed and water would be restored to surrounding buildings. Lewis defended the city’s water department earlier in the morning, saying crews worked tirelessly to repair the breaks, noting the aging pipes.
The ones that cracked at the intersection at Joseph E. Boone Boulevard near JP Brawley Drive, the other major rupture, were made of steel and more than 80 years old, said Al Wiggins Jr., commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management.
City officials said Monday that repairing a leak requires an arduous process of draining the ruptured area, making the repairs and then slowly waiting for the system to refill through the pipes to confirm that the solution is holding back the restoring water pressure. Each step in the process takes several hours. Initial repairs Friday to the Joseph E. Boone blowout, which occurred at a crucial intersection of multiple water mains, were unsuccessful, catching crews and city officials by surprise.
The geyser that occurred later in the weekend at 11th and West Peachtree posed even greater challenges. City officials said the valve to turn off the flowing water was directly below the surface breach and they called for the flow to continue rather than turning off water again to the entire area. On Sunday, Wiggins said authorities do not know what caused that break, although they do not believe it is related to the other major break on Boone Boulevard.
Lewis said he understood the city’s water problems firsthand. Two years ago, he said the pipes in his Cleveland Avenue office broke and took almost a year to repair. Lewis said he would request a full report from the department, which typically begins with public comment, at today’s City Council meeting at 1 p.m.
“The future is now,” he added. “Our goal, my goal, is to be at the forefront there.”
Lewis added that he is encouraged that voters recently approved a continuation of the municipal optional sales tax. The longstanding 1% sales tax will fund water and sewer projects for another four years.
The Atlanta school system today canceled summer school and summer programs due to the ongoing mess.
In better news, Emory University Hospital Midtown and Grady Memorial Hospital have announced that business is returning to normal, as has Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Megan Thee Stallion was able to take the stage at State Farm Arena on Sunday after Friday and Saturday night shows had to be canceled and Atlanta United’s soccer match against Charlotte went ahead as planned on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, albeit with limited food and drinks options.
As the water problems continued, authorities announced Sunday that they were investigating another possible water main break at 1190 Atlantic Drive. A six-inch main was also shut down at Euclid Avenue and North Avenue to make emergency repairs.
“Water service has been restored to 35 homes and four fire hydrants,” the department said of that pause.
The boil water advisory for customers near Boone Boulevard could be lifted as early as Monday if Atlanta receives approval from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. On Sunday, residents were seen using a bucket to scoop up water pouring from a broken pipe near 11th Street.
Outside the Residence Inn Marriott in Midtown, Atlanta Watershed, crews cordoned off West Peachtree Street Monday morning. Travelers staying at the hotel don’t have water, but they do have a good view of the underbelly of West Peachtree Street. Several excavators loaded mud into dump trucks, which left a trail of brown water as they drove away. A pipe was seen being unloaded from a truck next to the broken main pipe. Roadblocks and caution tape also disrupted the usual path of pedestrians and passing vehicles, some of whom turned around in frustration when they realized their path was blocked.
A man on a scooter asked reporters and watershed workers, “Is this still happening?” before shaking his head and making a U-turn to find a detour.
Jazmen Dean, who lives in an apartment along West Peachtree, said her friends came over en masse this weekend for her showers because she wasn’t bothered by the water outages.
That situation reversed on Monday and she found herself going to her friend’s house to use the toilet after pilates class. Before moving from Washington, D.C., in February, Dean said she had never had water problems. The engineer was annoyed by the lack of an action plan and clarity from city leaders.
“It puts a damper on the city, especially since this is in Midtown,” she said. “The main thing we want is just an explanation.”
The disaster also has major financial consequences. Google’s office tower at 1105 West Peachtree will be closed Monday for the break. Atlanta resident Lisa Loomis, meanwhile, said her family members have closed two restaurants since Friday, including Steamhouse.
“All staff are losing this weekend, not just the company itself,” she said.
West End Soul Kitchen owner Martin Mendes said his business was returning to normal, serving the specialties he had created over the past four years. When water service stopped Friday and Saturday, he switched to a limited menu.
“This community is at the bottom (economically) and people are struggling to make ends meet,” Mendes said. “It put people here in a bad situation.”
Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft said they have provided guidance and support to expedite repairs, along with connecting the city to state and federal resources.
“We continue to work together on overall response and communications,” he added.
After Dickens declared a state of emergency this weekend to free up resources for repairs and the city activated a joint operations center, there were some signs that things were improving.
This story is made possible through a news partnership with The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
