Boil water advisory in Atlanta expected to last until Saturday afternoon, officials say

About 50,000 customers were under a boil water advisory issued Friday by Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management. The impacted area included residents and businesses in downtown and in neighborhoods from Vine City to Grant Park.

The department said the advisory was prompted by an internal power failure at the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant and was issued “out of an abundance of caution.” Power was restored in the plant’s pump station, officials said. In a Friday afternoon statement, the city said water service also had been restored to affected areas.

The advisory is expected to be lifted by 1 p.m. Saturday, pending water quality testing results, the department said.

A map of the areas under the boil water advisory shows the alert includes downtown as well as surrounding neighborhoods. Mechanicsville, parts of Inman Park, Peoplestown and Pittsburgh are within the range of the advisory.

Those who have experienced outages or low pressure should boil water for at least a minute past a “rolling boil.” Officials encouraged people in the area to drink bottled water until the advisory is lifted.

Boiled water should also be used for cooking, brushing your teeth, making ice and preparing food.

A spokesperson for the watershed department did not respond to questions from the AJC about the cause of the power failure.

The Hemphill plant supplies potable water to homes, retailers and commercial and industrial businesses within the city and parts of south Fulton County. It also supplies water to fire hydrants around Atlanta, according to information on the watershed department’s website.

The boil water advisory impacted major sites in Atlanta. The World of Coca-Cola announced on social media that beverage dispensers at its Taste It! exhibit and Beverage Lab are temporarily unavailable. The downtown attraction said Friday tickets could be used for a future visit.

Georgia State University’s downtown campus is also within the advisory area and issued an alert to its students. An Atlanta Public Schools spokesperson said the district provided bottled water to students in buildings within the advisory area. Friday was the final class day of the school year.

Also on Friday, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper warned of a massive fish kill stretching at least 20 miles along the waterway near Atlanta. While it was not immediately clear if that incident and the drinking water warning are linked, officials said the fish kill is likely connected to heavy rains that caused flooding earlier this week.