ATLANTA — Editor's note: This story is no longer being updated. Head to this story here to get the latest updates on day two of repairs and water restoration efforts.
Several homes and businesses reported water outages after potentially two major water main breaks caused widespread issues throughout the city on Friday.
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management reported that the break involves a 36-inch water main that comes together with a 48-inch main in the Vine City neighborhood near the intersection of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard NW and James P. Brawley Drive. But, according to the department's outage map, another potential water issue is happening off Glenwood Avenue SE, on the city's east side, near the East Lake Golf Club.
The break on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard is near several major landmarks and attractions, including the Atlanta University Center, Georgia Tech, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and more. The other break on the east side is near several homes and neighborhoods. Watershed officials said it's unrelated to the break at Joseph E. Boone Boulevard.
11Alive is updating this story with businesses that have reported outages and impacts to their services, so far. We will continue to add to this list as we get new information.
Photos: Atlanta water main breaks
Atlanta City Hall
A spokesman for the City said that employees have been dismissed from its downtown facilities due to "the health and safety of our employees."
Fulton County government facilities
The Fulton County Government announced in a post on the X platform that all Fulton County facilities in the downtown area will close.
11Alive also spoke with Judge Ural Glanville's chambers, where YSL trial proceedings were supposed to continue on Friday. The judge's chambers said the trial proceedings are canceled for today due to the water main break.
The Fulton County Government also sent a statement to 11Alive where they said that the outage affected the Helene Mills Senior Center, Tax Assessors' Office at Peachtree Center, the Office of the Public Defender, and libraries.
The Fulton County sheriff's office confirmed it was not experiencing any issues at the Fulton County jail.
Nearly 10 libraries in Fulton County will be closed Saturday due to the water main break. The locations are:
- Auburn Avenue Research
- Central
- East Atlanta
- Kirkwood
- Louise Watley @ Southeast
- Mechanicsville
- Metropolitan
- Washington Park
- West End
Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium said in a statement that it is one of those businesses being impacted, though it assured that the issue was only affecting restrooms and similar areas and not its animal systems. The aquarium said it is closed Friday and Saturday while the city addressed the break.
It also posted on the X platform about its closure.
Georgia Tech
A university spokesperson told 11Alive they are seeing intermittent low water pressure across campus, but not critical functions are impacted.
Georgia Tech officials said they will be monitoring the situation.
Grady Hospital
The watershed department said on Saturday that operations were restored.
Atlanta Councilmember Jason Winston posted on Facebook Friday to report that the break is also impacting services at Grady Hospital in the downtown area and for almost all of District 1.
Grady Hospital released the following statement in response to the water main break:
Grady is experiencing low water pressure due to a water main break in the City of Atlanta. Hospital leadership and our facilities team are working diligently to mitigate the issues. To ensure patient safety, we have decided to cancel all elective and non-urgent procedures and appointments. Affected patients will be notified and appointments will be rescheduled for a later date.
Krog Street Market
11Alive reporter Cody Alcorn reports that it appears Krog Street Market is closed. While each business would make its own decision to stay open, Cody reported that most of the two dozen restaurants and businesses were closed.
National Center for Civil Human Rights
The National Center for Civil Human Rights sent out a post on the X platform saying they will close for today due to the water main break.
Read the full post below.
Zoo Atlanta
In a statement, the zoo said it closed early at 1 p.m. on Friday because of low water pressure. The zoo sent an email Saturday to members advising them that the location would not have water fountains and refill stations available. The zoo also stated it would not be selling fountain drinks and some other concessions.
It has contingency plans in place to make sure the animals there have access to water.
11Alive is continuing to reach out to learn if any other businesses have been impacted.
Crews from watershed management are onsite and "working aggressively" to make repairs to the break affecting the service area, according to the department. At this time, there is no estimate for when the issues would be resolved.