CNN —
Atlanta’s mayor has declared a state of emergency following a massive water main break that left parts of the city’s downtown district without water and prompted a major hospital to transfer patients elsewhere.
Thesignificant disruptionto water service in Georgia’s capital is the latest dramatic example of aging infrastructure throughout the United States, which has impacted electrical grids, bridges and roadways, dams and other vital systems that have inconvenienced millions of Americans or placed them in danger.
Mayor Andre Dickens on Saturday declared a state of emergency just a few hours after crews repaired one of two major water main breaks in downtown Atlanta. The other, in the Midtown neighborhood, is still undergoing services with no estimate on when it will be repaired.
The issue began Friday after breaks on a 48-inch and 36-inch transmission line “that carries large volumes of water to the metropolitan area,” according to Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management.
The water main breaks left parts of downtown Atlanta without water and under boil water advisories, shuttering tourist attractions and postponing events.
The disruption also prompted the city’s Emory University Hospital Midtown to transfer dialysis patients to other hospitals on Saturday, a hospital spokesperson told CNN in a statement.
The hospital’s emergency department diverted ambulances except for people with urgent heart concerns, the statement said.
“Individuals who walk-in or drive to the emergency department are still being accepted and cared for as normal,” the statement said.
The hospital said it brought in around 58,000 gallons of water in six tanker trucks to use in chillers and cooling towers. The water was supplied by a fire department and delivered by a tanker truck company.
“Bottled water is being distributed to patients throughout the hospital for drinking and personal care needs,” the statement said.
Urgent surgeries have not been affected, but most outpatient appointments, including in oncology and radiology, have been rescheduled or moved.
Boil water advisory in still effect
Dickens apologized on Saturday for the city’s response to the water main break that began creating concerns Friday morning.
“I know it has been a tough and frustrating day for many of you,” Dickens said. “We all takethis matter very seriously.”
The issues prompted the closure of tourist attractions and the rescheduling of events including Megan Thee Stallion concerts Friday and Saturday. The incident also left many without water or with inadequate water pressure.
The Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola, two of downtown’s biggest attractions, remained closed Saturday.
Atlanta United, the city’s soccer team, said it planned to play its match against Charlotte FC on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but there would be “limited food and beverage options” due to the city’s boil water advisory, which remained in effect.
“We ask all fans to utilize hand sanitizing stations around the stadium as an added precaution for health and safety,” the team said in a statement on X.
Officials say a decaying pipe that collapsed due to water pressure was the main cause of the break downtown.
“We were actually able to repair the fitting that was leaking,” said Al Wiggins Jr., Commissioner for the Department of Public Works, during a news conference earlier on Saturday.
“We spent a significant amount of time removing pressure from the system in order for us to be able to conduct the necessary repairs,” he said.
Crews are slowly pressurizing water flow to ensure no additional damage is done to the water network.
Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital on Saturday also reported low water pressure, Grady administrators said in a statement.
Al Wiggins Jr., Atlanta’s Commissioner for the Department of Public Works, speaks at a news conference in Atlanta on Saturday, June 1.
“However, we remain fully operational, and our emergency room is accepting all patients,” the statement reads, adding that elective procedures were canceled “to ensure patient safety.”
Water issues have impacted Atlanta before. In June 2020, a water main break on the Georgia Institute of Technology’s campus led to outages and a boil water advisory in the city.
Emory University Hospital Midtown used bottled water then. Patient care was not affected.
Atlanta’s woes are part of a larger issue of aging infrastructure throughout the United States. Here and in Canada, around 260,000 water main breaks cost $2.6 billion each year, according to a December 2023 study from Utah State University.
The study noted that the average age of failing water mains is around 53 years and that 33% of US and Canadian water mains are over 50 years old.
CNN’s Ray Sanchezcontributed to this report.
