New Watershed commissioner outlines priorities: compliance, collections, meters and RM Clayton upgrades

Greg Eyerly, the City’s new commissioner of Watershed Management, presented the department’s FY26 budget priorities and operational status to the Atlanta City Council, citing compliance work, workforce development, meter modernization and capital projects at wastewater and water plants.

Eyerly opened by placing Atlanta’s challenges in historical context: the city’s water and sewer infrastructure predates the federal Clean Water Act of 1972, which he said creates additional complexity and compliance burdens relative to newer systems. He described Watershed as one of the nation’s larger municipal utilities and listed core services as: delivering safe drinking water, treating wastewater to regulatory standards, and reducing urban flooding while improving water quality.

Key metrics and near‑term priorities were given in the presentation. The department said it manages roughly 1,556 full‑time equivalent positions, treats about 98 million gallons of drinking water per day, receives roughly 138 million gallons of wastewater per day, and manages about $5 billion in assets. The five‑year capital plan totals roughly $1.2…