DeKalb Watershed Management held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 6:30 p.m. wherein they discussed the timeline for the Dunwoody Knoll Water Main Replacement Project – an area that has long been plagued with water main breaks.
According to DeKalb officials, the process will begin Oct. 6, when crews will begin replacing more than 12,000 linear feet of ductile iron water pipe between Roberts Drive and Redfield Road on Chamblee Dunwoody Road.
The project is expected to last approximately 12 months, officials said, and will affect a handful of roads in addition to Chamblee Dunwoody, including Roberts Drive, Fairfield, Dunwoody Walk, Harris Circle and Harris Court.
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“This project is part of DeKalb County’s $4.27 billion capital improvement program to improve the capacity and service of the community’s watershed systems,” according to an the announcement from watershed officials.
In July, DeKalb officials provided Dunwoody residents with an overview about the county’s beleaguered water infrastructure system, but at the time, there were no reassurances that frequent water main breaks that have occurred on Chamblee Road near Dunwoody Knoll would be fixed soon.
At the meeting, DeKalb County District 1 Commissioner Robert Patrick and CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, along with key staff members, painted a now-familiar glum picture about the county’s aging water infrastructure, reiterating that nothing had been done to significantly improve the system for six decades.
DeKalb County is under a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) that formalizes implementation of sanitary sewer system programs and improvements. In order to finance these repairs, estimated at more than $4 billion, DeKalb County residents will see a 10 percent increase in their bills each year for the next 10 years.
The county took a data-driven approach to prioritize the order of repair/replacement, and the $6.9 million Dunwoody Knoll project, according to officials, was not scheduled until 2028. However, officials said that timeline could be moved up, depending on need, which has apparently occurred.
At the virtual meeting, Cassandra Marshall, the assistant director of capitol improvement projects, said the area had experiences about 49 water main breaks from 1989 to 2024. Most of the pipes in the area were installed in 1955.
Marshall said the new pipes should last about 100 years.
The work, which will take place for the most part from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. will involve asphalt cutting, dusty conditions, intermittent planned water and power outages, and lane reductions. The existing pipe will operate until the entire project is finished, so residents could experience the same problems that have plagued the area – brown water, pipe breaks, and low water pressure.
Residents can provide their email addresses to keep abreast of developments in the project or send inquiries to the project information email address.
