Flooding reported at Fulton County Jail after pipes burst during winter weather

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The troubled Fulton County Jail is seeing more problems on Saturday after pipes burst inside the facility, according to officials.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said the leak began in a bathroom toilet on the third floor.

“During the repair effort, the pipe coupling failed, resulting in widespread flooding that affected multiple areas on the third floor and levels below,” the sheriff’s office said.

Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory said an estimated 70,000 gallons of water was released when the pipe burst.

The flooding affected servers that were just replaced in October 2025 when a pipe also burst then too. It cost $1 million to replace those servers after the October incident.

Ivory said no inmate housing units were affected.

The incident comes as a winter storm sweeps through north Georgia, dumping inches of snow in some areas and plunging temperatures below freezing.

The sheriff’s office said the incident was unrelated to the weather.

FULL FORECAST: Major winter storm brings significant snow, dangerous cold to Georgia

Fulton County Jail has long been notorious for its violence and inhumane conditions. A 2024 Justice Department investigation found that inmates’ rights were being violated, leading to a court order binding the sheriff’s office to an ongoing improvement plan.

“This is not an isolated incident,” said Ivory. “It is the predictable result of a building that is past its useful life and cannot reliably support basic operations.”

“Whether it is a fire, a massive pipe burst, or another infrastructure failure, these emergencies keep happening because the building is fundamentally unsound,” Ivory said. “People are being housed in a facility that cannot reliably provide basic conditions, and that is unacceptable.”

Atlanta News First has a crew headed to the jail to learn more.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.