Atlanta to install 500 AI-operated devices to detect water main leaks across Midtown, Westside

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Friday, the City of Atlanta said they plan on installing 500 advance detection devices across the City to alert water officials of water leaks before they intensify.

Earlier this week, the Department of Watershed Management said the pilot program only included 20 devices.

“The initial thought was that we would install 20, so we are up to 500 devices. We have expanded the area,” said Al Wiggins, Commissioner for Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management.

Wiggins sat down with Atlanta News First on Friday to explain the pilot program and assess the city’s response in the city’s water emergency earlier this week.

“We’re really focusing on what we could do to prevent any future occurrences,” Wiggins explained.

Atlanta endured a 6-day water emergency where much of the city was under a boil water advisory from Saturday to Thursday morning.

The problems stemmed from two major water main breaks along Joseph E. Boone Boulevard NW and West Peachtree Street in Midtown.

Wiggins stressed the breaks weren’t so much the issue, as the City endures water main breaks every day.

“What was unusual is we had a difficult time with one of the main breaks with isolating the point of the break, because we had valves that malfunctioned in that area,” said Wiggins, referring to the break at West Peachtree and 11th Street in Midtown.

The 500 devices will be installed across a 35-mile stretch in Midtown, Downtown, and the Westside.

They will not only be able to alert water officials on where a leak is occurring but also the magnitude of that leak.

Wiggins said the devices communicate with each other based on vibrations.

The Department of Watershed Management said the devices are free to the City of Atlanta and declined to name the vendor as to avoid unnecessary promotion.

Wiggins said he hoped a “good portion” of them would be installed by the end of next week.

The Department of Watershed Management said Atlanta reported roughly 500 water main breaks in the last 12 months.

Most are minor and are fixed quickly with little damage, said water officials.

“It would be concerning if there were two for me. We’re always looking at how we can build a better mousetrap. It’s concerning, but it’s not highly-unusual for a city this age,” said Wiggins.

Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited Atlanta this week to assess the city’s water infrastructure.

Wiggins said the City will have a follow-up meeting with engineers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next week.