Downtown Atlanta water service disrupted, forcing business closings, water boil notice

ATLANTA– Businesses and attractions in downtown Atlanta were closed Saturday as the city tried to repair water pipe breaks That led to water outages and low pressure.

Water flowed into the street where three major water mains crossed, causing water problems at two downtown hospitals, a city jail, a county jail and local shelters, the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said in a news release Friday evening.

Some attractions and businesses, including the Georgia Aquarium, remained closed Saturday.

“The citywide water issue continues to impact the Aquarium and many others in the area. This does not affect our animals, but it does affect our guest areas such as toilets,” the aquarium wrote on X.

The problems started Friday morning and crews were still working to restore service Saturday. The department issued a boil water advisory for much of metro Atlanta and asked the public to limit water use so pressure in the system could rebuild.

“The entire city government has been mobilized to tackle this problem,” the water department said. It promised updates on its website and on social media, but the site was offline Saturday morning and there had been no updates on social media since Friday evening. The department’s communications office did not return a phone call Saturday morning or immediately respond to an email requesting updates.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s concert was moved from Friday to Sunday. She was also scheduled to perform at State Farm Arena on Saturday. That performance would continue from Saturday morning.

“I’m extremely disappointed because I had a huge surprise for the Hotties tonight, but we will follow the mayor’s protocol,” she said. posted on X. “Praying for the people who have lost access to water due to this situation.”