'We need to be proactive': City Council President Doug Shipman on fallout of Atlanta water emergency

June 5th, 2024

Water gushes from a water main break at the intersection of Peachtree and 11th Street in Midtown Atlanta on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

City of Atlanta officials announced water service has been fully restored across the city.

That’s as crews finished repairs on a crucial water main that burst at West Peachtree Street and 11th Street in Midtown. Atlanta Watershed Management crews installed a new 30-inch water pipe, poured concrete and started to charge the system back up.

That’s just one of several water main breaks that caused a water outage crisis over the weekend.

It started Friday with a major break near Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and James P Brawley Drive in Mechanicsville.

DWM officials confirmed an old corroded pipe excavated from underneath the roadway was more than 80 years old.

But, the crisis is far from over for city officials who are in charge of revitalizing an aging water system before major outages happen again.

Through all the chaos, city councilmembers unanimously passed the FY2025 budget — the city’s largest budget ever. It includes $30 million that will focus on the city’s infrastructure.

Residents are voicing their frustrations on social media about a pattern of past infrastructure failures that include “Snowmageddon,” the Atlanta airport blackout and now the 2024 Atlanta water crisis.

Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman joined WABE’s “Morning Edition” to discuss the path forward.

Lily Oppenheimer contributed to this report.