Civil engineer says recent Atlanta water main breaks could be connected

ATLANTA — It’s a system rife with issues, civil engineers say are to be expected with the city of Atlanta’s decades-old water system.

“The design of that particular infrastructure was created 80 years ago,” Commissioner Al Wiggins said.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln spoke with Georgia Tech’s civil engineering professor Iris Tien.

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“There’s new infrastructure combined with old infrastructure,” Tien said.

Tien says Atlanta’s challenge is updating outdated water lines with the booming development happening city-wide.

“There’s also questions about how those work together and how do we know what’s even in the ground,” Tien said.

Atlanta Watershed Commissioner Al Wiggins spoke during a news conference Monday about repair updates.

He said although the City’s water system is old, it doesn’t mean repairs haven’t been made.

“It doesn’t mean that we have not done work, there’s always ongoing work, especially when you have development in an area,” Wiggins said.

Lincoln found the most recent data in a 2022 Atlanta Watershed report showing the city repaired more than 373 water main breaks.

The report also highlights the City’s Clean Water Atlanta initiative aimed towards improving the city’s aging water system.

In 2022 the city inspected more than 1,500 miles of pipe and rehabilitated 406 miles.

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Tien says it’s possible the break at James P. Brawley Dr. and Joseph E. Boone Blvd created a chain reaction.

“Maybe the other ones would have been okay if there was nothing that disrupted the system - if everything was normal, but because of that trigger event it led to these other potential failures,” Tien said.

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Water remains off in 11th Street area of Midtown Atlanta

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