ATLANTA — Months have passed since a series of water main breaks disrupted water service for thousands of homes and businesses in Atlanta. The work to avoid a similar crisis in the future continues.
Department of Watershed Commissioner Al Wiggins gave a regular department update to the city council's Utility Committee this week. At the end of that presentation, he was asked several questions about water valves.
"It is unfortunate that we are here, but we have a solid plan and my plan is to build a process that isn't dependent on a person or a position, it is based on a solid assets management program," Wiggins said.
Wiggins was appointed as commissioner in May, only weeks before water main breaks in multiple parts of town led to a water crisis. He has been on cleanup duty since then.
"I think what is most important is that we establish a condition assessment to inventory those valves," he told councilmembers.
He was being asked about water valves because, in June, issues with water valves prevented crews from stopping a geyser that sprayed for days and delayed repairs at the corner of 11th Street and West Peachtree Street in Midtown.
Wiggins told councilmembers by using paper records in the past, the condition of water valves wasn't always accurately documented, and in some cases, the location of valves was unknown.
"Our records have probably an 85 to 90 percent accuracy level," he said in response to a question of whether the city knew the location of its valves.
There are about 66,000 valves scattered around the city, and Wiggins said his staff is working diligently to document them all.
"It is almost like we are starting off at a zero base process. Shortly after the main break that occurred in June, we brought a team on board to look at valves in pockets where we were experiencing low water pressure," Wiggins said.
That team is also focused on inspecting valves near certain buildings, including hospitals, schools, and retirement homes.
However, with the timeline they're working with, Wiggins said 270 valves would need to be checked each day. That is why his department is planning to start accepting bids in early January to hire a private contractor.
"We just don't have the capacity and it isn't the best use of our time for our teams to inspect 270 valves a day if we are trying to get this done in a year time frame," he said.
Wiggins added that his office is now using a new software program to avoid issues created by paper records in the past. The new system allows crews to use devices to access records remotely while also accurately documenting the testing and condition of valves to ultimately help in identifying necessary repairs.
At least one councilmember called the plan overdue.
"To me, the best time to have had that would have been 20 years ago, which just means the second best time is today," Councilmember Howard Shook said.