City of Atlanta rescinds outdoor water advisory

On July 21, 2022, the City of Atlanta issued a water conservation advisory asking residents to eliminate outdoor watering use. In a press release from the city, City Manager David Cockrell advised that “the City of Atlanta is asking water customers to conserve water and suspend outdoor watering. While the City is receiving water, the production plant at the GPI paper mill plant is unable to send a sufficient supply to meet the current peak summer demand. A repair of piping is underway that should correct the situation. Customers are asked to practice reasonable water conservation measures until the repair is completed and the water system completely back to normal operations.”

On July 22, 2022, the water restrictions were removed. So far says Cockrell, even with the drought, “there is no substantial increase in the overall demand of water from this year compared to earlier years.” The County has currently been under a burn ban for unusually dry conditions. Information from waterdatafortexas.org indicates that the County has moved from a D1, moderate drought conditions to more advanced drought conditions, D2 which indicates severe drought. As the drought continues with the high heat the water usage is likely to increase.

Instead, said Cockrell, there was a “problem with piping at the mill, and we believe a buildup inside a pipe was preventing the mill from sending the supply we needed. The mill personnel installed a larger pump with more capacity, and that temporary fix was able to provide Atlanta with an increase in water supply to meet our demand. However, the final repair of their system has not been completed, which will consist of repairing or replacing the pipe section. That repair will need to be scheduled at a time when our demand is much lower.”

The Graphic Packaging Plant currently supplies water through an agreement with the City of Atlanta. “The repairs that occur at the water plant are not passed on directly to the City of Atlanta or Atlanta water customers,” says Cockrell.

“The City of Atlanta has rescinded watering restrictions that were put into effect on July 21, 2022.” Water customers may resume outdoor watering, but the city always encourages reasonable conservation of our valuable natural water resources,” said Cockrell in the release.