Atlanta residents told to boil water amid city closures

A water main break in Atlanta on Friday led to service interruption and a boil water advisory for much of the metropolitan area.

The city’s Department of Watershed Management (DWM) said that crews began repairing the break at the intersection of Boone Boulevard and J.P. Brawley Drive in northwest Atlanta at 5 p.m. EST. Officials warned that residences could experience low water pressure and water service could be suspended in some areas while the break— which occurred on a 48-inch and 36-inch transmission line that “carries large volumes of water to the metropolitan area”—is repaired.

A boil water advisory was issued while crews worked on the main break “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with” Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD), the DWM said in a release. All residents were also asked to restrict their water use to “critical uses only to allow system pressures to rebuild.”

“To protect the public from a potential health hazard, all residents and property owners who have experienced water outages and/or low water pressures are advised to boil all water before using or use bottled water for drinking, cooking, preparing baby food, or brushing their teeth,” the DWM said.

“The water should be boiled for one minute past a rolling boil,” the warning continued. “Infants, the elderly, and those with immune deficiencies should be cautious. Do not drink water from public water fountains in the impacted area.”

“Vigorous” hand washing or taking showers with tap water should be “safe for basic personal hygiene,” officials added. If using water to wash hands before preparing food, however, the DWM said that residents should boil the tap water first.

Several offices and businesses closed on Friday in response to the break, including Atlanta City Hall, the College Football Hall of Fame and Fulton County government offices, according to a report from WAGA. Grady Memorial Hospital also suspended all elective, non-urgent procedures and appointments Friday.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that the Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta closed their operations early on Friday. Zoo officials said in a statement that it “has contingency plans in place to ensure that the animals have access to water” during service interruptions.

The boil water advisory will remain in effect until DWM officials are “cleared to lift it following sampling protocols,” the department said in its release. The state’s EPD will also advise Atlanta’s watershed management officials on when the advisory can be lifted.

Newsweek reached out to the DWM via email for additional information Friday evening.

A separate, six-inch water main near the Bobby Jones Golf Course in northern Atlanta was also turned off temporarily at around 7 p.m. EST Friday while the DWM conducted “emergency repairs,” according to an update from the department on X, formerly Twitter. The outage impacted 40 residences and three fire hydrants. That main was turned back on around 8:21 p.m. EST.