Boil water advisory in Downtown Atlanta lifted
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A boil water advisory issued on Friday for Downtown Atlanta has been lifted, the watershed management department announced on Saturday.
The advisory was enacted at around 10 a.m. after two pumps shut off during a power failure at the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant, the city’s oldest and largest water treatment facility.
“By the time we were able to get other pumps up and running — took about an hour — pressures dropped in some parts in the city. Some pressure censor locations dropped below 20 PSIs,” said Greg Eyerly, Atlanta’s commissioner of Watershed Management.
That drop forced the city to issue the advisory.
Officials originally said the advisory would remain in effect until midday on Saturday, but it was lifted at around 7:30 a.m. after sampling results confirmed there were no contaminants in the public water system.
Approximately 50,000 customers were in the impacted area, the watershed department said.
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Officials urged residents in the impacted area to boil all water before using it or use bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth.
The situation irritated some, who say they are tired of frequent boil water advisories.
“Here we go again. It seems like it’s becoming a recurring thing that we all have to work through. And I know that they’re working hard on it, and hopefully they’ll get it fixed, but it costs us money, it costs everybody money, especially on a holiday weekend,” said Johnny Martinez, co-owner of Joystick Gameback.
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Georgia State University said the advisory was impacting its Atlanta campus. The World of Coca-Cola also closed its Taste It! and Beverage Lab exhibits, the two areas where guests can drink beverages. The Georgia Aquarium said its impacts were minimal.
On Thursday, the city’s watershed management department posted a video on social media detailing a project to replace the treatment plant’s utility switchgear, which supports the electrical distribution system.
“These upgrades also help provide reliable water pressure for fire protection and reduce the potential for boil water advisories by defending against contaminants entering the system,” Spokesperson Jacinta Render said in the video.
It’s unclear if Friday’s outage is connected to the project.
“We believe we’ve isolated what those issues that caused this particular power outage, but it’s a perfect example of why we need to continue to invest in our infrastructure,” said Eyerly, when asked if the improvements highlighted in the social media video played a part in the power outage.
This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.
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