Residents in Atlanta, Georgia left without water following water main breaks: What to know

Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
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Water main breaks in Atlanta, Georgia in the downtown and Midtown areas have caused major disruptions. Many residents have been left without water and a boil water advisory remains in place as crews work to fix the issue.

The breaks have forced many popular attractions, businesses and restaurants to close. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion's concerts at the State Farm Arena had to be canceled Friday and Saturday due to the continued impacts from the water main breaks.

In a press conference on Saturday, the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management (DWM) Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. said the department is working quickly to repair the breaks.

“We have made significant progress since the last update we spent a significant amount of time removing pressure from the system in order for us to be able to conduct the necessary repairs,” Wiggins said. ”This took a little bit longer than we had expected because of the time that the repairs were done, there was not a lot of demand on the system so therefore it took a little longer to depressurize the system.”

Wiggins said he hopes to get the water running again in the area today, but also is not sure if that will happen. The department is working to slowly pressurize the system so it won’t result in further damages to other areas within the network.

Wiggins also understands the urgency and dependability of water in the city but would rather take a slower approach to fix the issue so a regression of the department’s work does not happen.

The breaks were caused by decay and corrosion, officials say.

The Atlanta mayor issues a boil water advisory in the areas picture above.
The Atlanta mayor issues a boil water advisory in the areas picture above.

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A boil water advisory is issued by the Atlanta Mayor

In a press release by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, he said that the boil water advisory is still in effect and residents should follow the advisory until the DWM clears the area.

Dickens advises residents, “to boil all water prior to use or use bottled water for drinking, cooking, preparing baby food, or brushing teeth. The water should be boiled for one minute past the rolling boil. Infants, the elderly, and those who are with immune deficiencies should be cautious. Do not drink water from public water fountains in the impacted area.”

Dickens took to X to apologize to Atlanta residents for the inconvenience.

The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management has set up a bottled water distribution for DeKalb residents affected by City of Atlanta’s water main break.

Residents take to social media to express outrage over water main breaks

Residents took to social media to discuss their frustrations about the water main breaks as many try to navigate without running water.

Instead of being mad about the major issue, some residents decided to take a different approach.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Water main breaks in Atlanta, Georgia leads to boil water advisory