Mayor Shirley Franklin, Councilmember Cleta Winslow, and Councilmember Ivory Young will join Commissioner Rob Hunter and the Department of Watershed Management on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. p.m. to Noon at Washington Park, 102 Ollie Street, to break ground for the Greensferry Sewer Separation and Main Replacement Project.
A job fair will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Washington Park Natatorium for community residents interested in employment on the project. The job fair, under the auspices of the City's First Source program, is designed to provide employment opportunities for residents of areas affected by ongoing water and sewer construction projects.
The project involves separation of 57,000 linear feet of combined sewers. It will be completed under the City’s “One-Pass” program, in which water and sewer line work is done simultaneously, minimizing the disruption to affected neighborhoods. Water lines, hydrants and valves will also be replaced during the sewer separation project.
“The water lines in the area are old and in need of repair,” said Watershed Management Commissioner Rob Hunter. “It makes sense to fix the water infrastructure at the same time we are replacing the sewer infrastructure so we do not have to disturb nearby communities any more than is absolutely necessary.”
The sewer separation program is part of the CSO Remediation Program that will help the City meet the obligations of the federal consent decrees to eliminate combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Separation of the combined sewers in the McDaniel basin and the Stockade sub-basin has already begun. All together, the City is separating 174,000 linear feet of combined sewers. The separation project will ultimately allow for the closing of the Greensferry and McDaniel CSO facilities and the Confederate Regulator.
The Greensferry basin runs south from the intersection of Westmoor Drive and Ollie Street and the intersection of Parsons and Lawton streets to just above Oglethorpe Avenue. Streets bordering the basin include Holderness Street to the east and Henry Street and Greensferry Avenue to the west. The Atlanta University Center and the West End community are located in the Greensferry basin.
“Once again, we are asking for residents’ patience as we start this important work.” Hunter said. “We know there will be traffic disruptions and other inconveniences, but the construction will result in clean, safe water for Atlantans and our downstream neighbors.”
Maps of the affected areas are available on the Clean Water Atlanta website, www.cleanwateratlanta.org. For more information, please contact the Clean Water Atlanta hotline, 404.529.9211.