The water main break in Midtown happened at the corner of West Peachtree and 11th streets. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
Catch up quick: The water main break that started it all happened the morning of May 31, 2024, on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and James P. Brawley Drive, in Vine City. Another break occurred several hours later in Midtown, at 11th and West Peachtree streets.
Businesses and neighborhoods in Midtown, Downtown and to the east and west were left without water.
The big picture: "The mayor has made it crystal clear that external communication is absolutely a top priority, and we will never again have a situation where there's any gaps or lack of information being passed along," Aman said.
Now, Atlanta strives to push out water main break details to the public, even if crews are unsure of the precise location, and info on where affected residents can pick up water during an outage.
State of play: The city is still utilizing AI technology to detect leaks sooner and deploy fixes quicker.
The technology found eight "significant" leaks in the system. Repairs for six have been completed and work on the remaining two is still ongoing, Eyerly said.
What's next: Eyerly said the city is also exploring technology that will give Atlanta water customers real-time data about their water usage, potentially leading to more consistent water billing.
During an outage, Watershed Management staff would be able to determine what areas have pressure or water flow.
