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Watershed officials warn consent-decree costs and project mix are creating risk; committee approves funding and contracts
Summary
Commissioner Greg Eierly told the committee consent-decree capital needs remain large and project spending skews heavily toward wastewater; the committee approved multiple budget and contract actions related to capital work.
Commissioner Greg Eierly told the City Utilities Committee active capital work totals roughly $1.2 billion across about 93 projects and that the department’s remaining consent-decree capital needs total $735 million, separate from the active projects list.
“This is active projects. Approximately 1,200,000,000 or 93 projects, are active presently, and it it is not inclusive of the remaining consent decree capital needs of 735,000,000,” Eierly said.
Eierly highlighted an imbalance in spending: the department reported roughly $5–6 million active on wastewater collections consent-decree work while showing about $57 million in water-distribution projects and additional, larger outlays at treatment plants. “We’re spending almost 10 to 1 on wastewater consent decree versus water distribution,” he said, and warned the long-term disproportionate spend rate increases overall utility risk.
When Council member Howard Shook asked about a request for a federal extension of work tied to the consent decree, Eierly said the department has formally applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an extension that would apply to particular projects within the consent decree but not for an extension of the consent decree itself. He said the basis for the request was availability of capital and resources and sharply higher project estimates since 2020.
The commissioner also reported compliance trends: wastewater discharge violations at treatment plants fell to 31 this quarter from 57 a year earlier, and there were zero major spills this last quarter, down from five over a year ago. At RM Clayton, he said staff had made improvements and there had been no E. coli violations since March.
On committee votes, members approved several items that fund capital and allow contract renewals: the committee approved a substitute to amend the FY2026 water and wastewater revenue bond fund budget to transfer $30,000,000 from watershed reserves to capital improvement and related project funds (motion moved by Council member Juan, seconded by Council member Shook; vote 6–0). The committee also approved a substituted resolution authorizing exercise of a second renewal option and allocation to a joint task-order fund described in committee documents (vote 6–0). The committee passed three memorandums of understanding with the Georgia Department of Transportation to adjust water and sewer infrastructure tied to DOT projects at specified intersections (combined vote 6–0).
Committee members pressed for more balanced capital planning and asked staff to seek ways to rebalance spend between wastewater consent-decree work and water distribution projects.
