The series of severe water main breaks that left thousands of businesses and residents without service last year also left city of Atlanta leaders with a clear message: they need help in revamping the city’s crumbing water infrastructure.
Local elected officials, including Mayor Andre Dickens, acknowledged that the cost of repairing and replacing vulnerable points in the system goes far beyond the city budget.
The Biden administration promised help, offering the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ expertise in conducting a two-year, $1 million study of the water system’s vulnerabilities and maintenance needs for about 3,000 miles of pipes.
Why did Atlanta water crisis drag on? These failing parts went undetected
Biden signed into law the City of Atlanta Water Infrastructure Enhancement Act on Jan. 4. It’s part of a broad water infrastructure bill that authorizes the Army Corps to get to work.
The bill was spearheaded by U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams also introduced a companion bill in the House…