DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson recently hosted the final public meeting in a series of three to address water and wastewater issues currently facing residents and businesses in the Georgia’s third most populated county. On Wednesday, Feb.5 county officials, resident and business owners met at the Porter Sanford LLL Coominty Center in Decatur to emphasize the importance of addressing the county’s outdated water and treatment infrastructure which serves the more than 760,000 residents and businesses located in the region.
Cochran-Johnson along with DeKalb County director of the county’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Maria Houser emphasized that the county’s only water treament facility, the Scott Candler Water Treatment Facility lacks the capacity to continue optimal delivery of clean safe water to homes, businesses and facilites, maintaining that the water issue would that if the county does not receive the requested tax hike for a $300 miilion dollar overhaul of the current facility. DeKalb County has only received one 6 percent increase for water and sewage services to it’s rapidly growing population in the past 10 years, while surrounding municipalities have imposed a 4.2 percent increase for each year from 2014 to the present to address water infrasturcture needs.
Cochran-Johnson asserts that the county has reached a pivotal point for DeKalb County for water and sewage services as both are challenged to continue to provides services through an aging infrasturcture constrcuted in the 1940s which received it’s only upgrade in 1974.
“DeKalb has invested $1.25 billion rehabilitating our aging water and sewer infrastructure. This includes fixing more than 165 sewer spill sites, replacing 90 miles of water pipes and optimizing our systems to save $164 million through cost reductions and increased revenues,” esplained the newly elected CEO.
In January of this year a water main break on Clairmont Road in Brookhaven, impacted thousands of residents in DeKalb County causing county health officials to issue a boil water advisory for thousands of residents in DeKalb County. The break was caused by a cast iron pipe installed in 1941 and freezing temperatures.
“I want to be very clear that currently, if the plant were to go down, is estimated that we have between three to five hours of clean water if that should happen, many of us sitting in this room would be out of water before we knew the problem existed,” said Cochran-Johnson adding that DeKalb County experienced 963 water main breaks in 2024 and averaged three wate main breaks daily under the antiquated system.
Other panel experts pointed out that water contamination and disruptive water main breaks would continue to be an ongoing problem for residents and businesses of the region and would only worsen in the near term.
DeKalb County COO Zachary Williams assured meeting participatns that the county has undertaken a series of comprehensive payment programs to ensue that those effected by the tax incease would receive assistance to address potential financial challenges for those living in the effected areas.
“The first program under the did CAD cares customer assistance program is a discount program, and that discount program will work essentially like this, those persons who are defined as low income by Housing and Urban Development guidelines, federal guidelines, which essentially for a family of four, would be a household making less than $55,000 they would receive a 10% discount on their rates,” he explained, adding that a number of other payment programs would be made available to eligible households.
“Raising rates now is necessary to invest in critical infrastructure, recognizing that not all residents can afford higher rates. DeKalb has developed assistance programs to provide support while continuing efforts to maximize efficiency and secure external funding. Together, we can secure a safe and reliable water and sewer system for our future. It’s time to act,” CEO Cochran-Johnson urged.
More information on the DeKalb County water management meetings is available at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/watershed-management/2024-capital-improvement-program-cip
