A.M. ATL: A closer look at Atlanta’s water woes
Morning, y’all! Your weekend forecast is lovely: chilly mornings and sunny afternoons with temps in the mid- to upper 70s.
- A quick programming note: I’m off next week. Marvelous Eric Mandel will fill in and do a bang-up job, promise.
But I’ve still got you today, with a newsletter offering updates on Hurricane Milton, an attempt to extend Georgia’s voter registration deadline and a notable Braves coaching change. Plus the return of Atlanta Pride!
But first: an under-the-radar reason why Atlanta’s summer water woes lingered so long.
***
REMEMBER THIS?
Atlanta’s water pipes are old. Super old. They are, no doubt, largely to blame for the seemingly interminable summer crisis that left much of the city high and dry.
But AJC investigative reporter Thad Moore dug a little deeper — and found that a few other pieces of infrastructure (and officials’ failure to maintain them) made things a whole lot worse.
- To wit: “Atlanta failed to maintain the thousands of shut-off valves buried below the city, and in a moment of crisis, several crucial valves didn’t work, according to interviews and a review of the city’s water records, emails and internal data.”
When the water main at the Midtown intersection of West Peachtree and 11th streets burst on May 31, a lot of valves froze or wouldn’t stay closed. Others were literally paved over. Unmarked. Unfindable.
When you can’t even shut the water off, it takes a lot longer to fix a leak.
And that means thousands of people go days without water. Sinkholes open up. Businesses lose a ton of money.
An inconvenience becomes a catastrophe.
- “We do not have any records to support that these valves were exercised on a semiannual basis,” Atlanta watershed commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. told the AJC.
Officials vowed to tackle the issue moving forward, as part of their comprehensive assessments of the city’s infrastructure.
But for now? Buckle up if that water starts gushing — it may be a while.
Make sure to read the full story for more details and telling graphics. And keep scrolling for more news.
***
MILTON’S AFTERMATH
Florida avoided the worst-case scenario with Hurricane Milton, but the storm still hit hard: killing at least eight people, destroying property and leaving more than 3 million people without electricity.
Coastal Georgia saw little damage yet remains wary of flooding. And officials urged evacuees here not to hurry home to the Sunshine State, where conditions may remain unsafe.
- Leaders prepare for lengthy battle for Hurricane Helene aid
- Hospitals stretch IV supplies after factories battered
***
CRIME & COURTS
» Fulton County prosecutors want to revoke the plea deal previously offered to a former co-defendant of rapper Young Thug, saying he didn’t testify truthfully.
» Roswell police arrested a nurse at a local hospital, accusing her of stealing jewelry from patients.
***
ELECTION UPDATES
Fulton County poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss reached an undisclosed settlement in their defamation lawsuit against the right-wing website Gateway Pundit, which falsely accused them of fraud during the 2020 election.
- A federal judge declined to extend Georgia’s voter registration deadline due to damage wrought by Hurricane Helene.
- A group of current and former Republican state legislators filed a motion supporting a lawsuit challenging the State Election Board’s new rules on certification.
***
KNOW YOUR STUFF
With November rapidly approaching (and early voting set to begin Tuesday!), we asked readers like you to submit questions about hot button issues. Now we’re answering them.
- In the latest installment, reporter Ariel Hart discusses how the president does (and doesn’t) influence things like abortion, Medicare and health insurance.
- Semi-related bonus llink: Social Security recipients will get a 2.5% cost of living increase in 2025. That’s a little smaller than recent years.
***
MAKING A CHANGE
After a disappointing offensive season (even before the injuries!), the Braves are moving on from hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and assistant Bobby Magallanes.
Everyone loves to blame the hitting coach when things go wrong, but whaddya think: Is the change warranted this time?
- Falcons: Sunday’s visit to the Panthers presents the opportunity for a third-straight division win. Can the offense keep momentum going?
- Georgia: Pride’s at stake when the fifth-ranked Bulldogs host lowly Mississippi State (4:15 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network).
- Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets hope to start a rare winning streak when they visit North Carolina (noon Saturday on Peachtree TV).
***
SHOW SOME PRIDE!
It’s Atlanta Pride weekend once again, with the massive LGBTQ celebration taking over Piedmont Park on Saturday and Sunday. The festivities offer something for everyone, including Atlanta’s largest parade of any kind.
It steps off from the Civic Center MARTA station at noon Sunday.
- If Pride’s not your scene, we’ve got plenty more ideas for weekend fun — and some Halloween-y options, too.
***
MORE TO EXPLORE
» Clark Atlanta University alumni association disbanded, replaced
» Big business leaders back Kemp’s lawsuit reform efforts
» Georgia biotech firm finds itself fighting the FDA and former workers
» How Delta performed in the third quarter, Crowdstrike outage and all
» Funk legend George Clinton brings first art exhibition to Savannah
***
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 11, 1929
The University of Georgia (and most of the rest of the state) got ready for a big football game with Yale — the first-ever played at Sanford Stadium.
Per The Atlanta Journal: “Governors of five states have signified their intention of seeing the game, as have two United States senators, six congressmen, Georgia state officials and many other notables.”
The student body, meanwhile, planned to greet the arriving Yale train with “an example of the hospitality of the South.”
***
PHOTO OF THE DAY
AJC contributor Olivia Bowdoin recently captured Sher’ree Kellogg (center, in orange) and family outside her Rockdale County home. They and other residents shared their fears about the long-term ramifications of the recent BioLab chemical fire.
“Do I really know that it’s safe for me to go outside?” Kellogg’s mother, Chiquilla Polain, asked.
***
ONE MORE THING
AJC columnist Bill Torpy recently returned to Limerick, Ireland, and found a significant shift at his family’s ancestral estate. You really can go home again, he writes — but it may not be the same.
***
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
