In DeKalb County, a staggering 22 customers owe at least $500,000 each, accumulating a near-total of $42 million in unpaid water and sewer bills, according to recent documents.
Both DeKalb County and the city of Atlanta face immense financial pressure as they grapple with the need to invest billions of dollars in sewer repairs due to federal court settlements linked to Clean Water Act violations.
The municipalities have also committed to spending additional billions to address ongoing water main breaks, which result in costly outages and boil water advisories impacting local residents, businesses, and customers.
This mounting financial burden has led to scrutiny regarding the collection practices within both jurisdictions as they strive to improve aging infrastructure amid rising inflation that escalates the costs of labor and materials.
Unlike the city of Atlanta, where no customer owes more than DeKalb County, DeKalb finds itself in a substantial debt position, with over $22 million owed to Atlanta for wastewater treatment services, as revealed by public records.
Since 1968, DeKalb has sent its wastewater to Atlanta’s R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Plant for treatment, following an agreement that established this arrangement.
Atlanta is responsible for billing DeKalb for sewage treatment along with a portion of the capital improvement costs for the plant.
Records indicate that more than $17.3 million of DeKalb’s outstanding debt stems from these capital improvement costs.
In a recent meeting with Atlanta’s City Council finance committee, Jonathan Williams, the deputy watershed commissioner, stated that discussions regarding the debt between the two governments have been ongoing.
DeKalb occasionally voices concerns or objections regarding Atlanta’s accounting practices.
Williams affirmed that DeKalb has until late May to make a payment and expressed confidence in their position, emphasizing the clarity of the financial arrangement from Atlanta’s perspective.
DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson addressed the debt situation in response to inquiries from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), although she did not elaborate on the specifics.
Instead, she highlighted recent water and sewer rate increases she has enacted, expected to more than double the average DeKalb household’s bill over the next decade and projected to generate revenue exceeding $2 billion.
County Commissioner Ted Terry, representing DeKalb’s western region, noted that the county has been indebted to Atlanta for just over two years.
He attributed the situation primarily to a lack of revenue to cover the debt, emphasizing the necessity to repay Atlanta now that the revenue stream has been established.
Terry described the obligation to repay as a matter of integrity with one of their closest municipal collaborators.
Alongside DeKalb, several other local governments also owe considerable amounts to Atlanta.
For instance, East Point has an outstanding debt of nearly $5 million while College Park owes about $2.8 million.
An East Point representative declined to comment on the situation, while officials from Atlanta and College Park are in negotiations regarding the latter’s bill, the details of which concern a sewer project agreement.
In Hapeville, which has a population of approximately 6,700, officials report a debt of around $2.4 million owed to Atlanta for capital projects at the South River wastewater facility, where the city treats its sewage.
Lee Sudduth, Hapeville’s community services director, stated that the city has been working to pay what it can afford annually, although they are unable to settle the full amount at once.
Additionally, Fulton County shows an outstanding debt of about $2.5 million owed to Atlanta for water and sewer services provided at the jail on Rice Street.
Last year, the city claimed Fulton County owed a total of $5.7 million across 90 different accounts; however, Fulton officials disputed this figure.
Fulton County CFO Sharon Whitmore informed the County Commission last month that the matter remains unresolved.
She noted that Fulton last communicated with the city in November and believes Atlanta is presently focused on addressing water debt issues with Atlanta Public Schools before turning their attention back to Fulton.
Interestingly, Atlanta itself faces its own debt situation, being nearly $1 million indebted to its parks and recreation department due to unpaid bills related to Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Historic Vine City.
According to spokesperson Schereé Rawles, the watershed department is currently coordinating with internal departments to develop payment arrangements for these debts.
In DeKalb County, records reveal that Emory University owes the county nearly $7 million for water and sewer services, attributed to issues with accurately reading the university’s water usage.
Cochran-Johnson and Emory representative Laura Diamond indicated that the discrepancies stem in part from the WaterHub, an innovative facility on campus that processes raw sewage for non-potable uses such as indoor climate control and toilet flushing.
Both parties are engaging in active discussions to resolve the payment issues.
The majority of high water debt cases in DeKalb involve owners of multifamily buildings who measure their consumption via a single meter.
Some situations require these property managers to rectify charges stemming from water leaks, while in other instances, tenants have paid their respective shares, but property owners or homeowner associations have failed to remit payments to the government.
To mitigate future issues, DeKalb began mandating individual water meters for any new multifamily buildings starting in 2008.
Conversely, Atlanta does not have such regulations in place.
The city is still coping with the repercussions of its prior failure to discontinue water services for delinquent accounts from 2010 until 2023.
Moreover, an audit from 2023 revealed that Atlanta has lagged in writing off uncollectible debt.
In recent communications, Rawles advised that Atlanta has reached out to high-volume multifamily properties to establish feasible paths forward for settling their accounts.
Some debts may be classified as uncollectible because of bankruptcy proceedings.
Similarly, DeKalb had suspended water shutoffs between 2016 and 2021 while rectifying issues related to faulty meters and software discrepancies that resulted in exceedingly high bills for many residents.
Cochran-Johnson stated that as of last month, there were only 89 disputed bills in the county, maintaining that 96% of water customers are current with their payments.
For customers with the largest outstanding balances, DeKalb has implemented payment plans and has also instituted liens against property sales for uncollected amounts.
Unsurprisingly, officials in both Atlanta and DeKalb have refrained from disconnecting water services to multifamily residences to avoid negatively impacting tenants who may not be at fault.
Terry remarked, “All these people would have to go somewhere. They couldn’t live there, technically, because the health department would shut it down.”
One notable case involves the Indigo apartment complex, which owes DeKalb County more than $12 million.
The property management company has not provided comments when contacted by AJC.
Additionally, the Camelot Club Condominium Association, situated in South Fulton, owes the city of Atlanta over $2.5 million for water.
This figure represents the largest debt owed to Atlanta from any customers other than local governments.
The Camelot Club homeowners association has also not responded to inquiries.
Notably, this property appears on AJC’s inventory of “Dangerous Dwellings,” highlighting multifamily complexes grappling with high crime and livability issues.
Numerous other complexes on this dangerous list owe substantial amounts to Atlanta for water services.
In a revealing turn, the record for the highest water debt linked to an individual homeowner belongs to a deceased individual.
Ida Griffin, the owner of a three-bedroom home in Mechanicsville, registered a water debt of nearly $622,000.
Circumstances surrounding her situation include a lack of communication regarding her death from family members, as well as high bills stemming from leaks while the city had a water shut-off moratorium in place.
Most of this debt may qualify as uncollectible according to state law, as the house’s assessed value is only about one-third of the total owed.
Consequently, even a lien on the property would not suffice to satisfy the outstanding debt.
The current occupant is making payments only on more recent charges, thus neglecting older debts, Rawles clarified.
Simultaneously, various departments within the city—including watershed, law, and finance—are collaborating to devise a strategy to address these complex issues.
Houston Water Director James “Gregory” Eyerly has recently stepped into the role of commissioner of Atlanta’s watershed department this month.
He will be tasked with guiding the city’s sewer systems back into compliance with federal regulations by a deadline set for 2027.
His mission also includes revamping the water system in anticipation of next year’s World Cup.
“I hope to see any debt that we can collect support all our capital project needs,” remarked Rawles, underscoring the importance of resolving outstanding debts.
Thus, as both DeKalb County and Atlanta navigate their substantial water debt landscape, the focus remains on cooperation, compliance, and ultimately delivering necessary improvements for the communities they serve.
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