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Atlanta’s new watershed commissioner vows to tackle sky-high water bills with modern solutions

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Atlanta’s new watershed commissioner vows to tackle sky-high water bills with modern solutions


For years, Atlanta residents have struggled with sky-high water bills that seemed to defy logic—and often, even evidence. Many took their complaints to the city’s Water and Sewer Appeals Board, only to be denied adjustments. But now, a new commissioner at the helm of the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management is pledging to fix a system that critics say has long failed its customers.

“We got to move from being where we are, both with the reliability [and] the accuracy. 99.9% is not good enough,” said Commissioner Greg Eyerly, who stepped into the role just three months ago. “We got to be like the airlines… 99.999999% accurate.”

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Eyerly is taking over as the department faces scrutiny over malfunctioning meters, outdated technology, and a lack of transparency that has left customers in the dark—sometimes literally.

$12K water bill for retiree

What we know:

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One of those customers is Jeffrey Williams, a retiree who says his water bill jumped from $153 a month to over $12,000 during a four-month stretch in 2022. “It started off with what I thought was a simple situation of our meter not accurately reporting our water usage,” he said.

Williams hired a plumber who confirmed a faulty meter, but the city’s appeals board still denied his request for an adjustment.

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“I move that there is no adjustment,” a board member said during Williams’ hearing.

$81K water bill for unused property

What they’re saying:

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The same outcome befell Gail Mapp, who contested $81,000 in bills for an unused property on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Her water bills had been $13.12 a month until a city register replacement. Neither her own plumbers nor city inspectors found leaks. Still, the board rejected her appeal.

Both Williams and Mapp sued the city. Both won.

“And I think that’s where, you know, this rub is,” said Mapp. “Why is the board denying some of these claims when there really is no evidence of a leak or anything else?”

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Atlanta’s Water and Sewer Appeals Board

The other side:

The Water and Sewer Appeals Board is an independent body appointed by the Atlanta City Council. But the utility’s challenges extend beyond governance.

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“We have meters now that have broken and we have to go out and fix them,” said Eyerly. “That’s why we end up with estimated reads—because the meter is broken.”

Eyerly said about 174,000 accounts are currently on the system, and even a small percentage of faulty meters can have a large impact.

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He believes modernizing the city’s 15-year-old metering system is the key to reducing these billing issues. “That technology was the best available at the time… it’s past time [to change it]. So that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Atlanta Watershed upgrades

What’s next:

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The department is now beginning a six-year rollout of upgraded smart meters that will give customers real-time access to their water usage.

“It’s not a black box anymore,” Eyerly said. “You know exactly what your readings are—all the time.”

Atlanta Watershed field inspections

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What you can do:

In the meantime, the department is encouraging customers who suspect an issue to request field inspections. Eyerly said the department is also ramping up maintenance efforts and proactively replacing registers.

“We want to reduce the number of people that have these disputes,” Eyerly said. “We want to put common sense back into this.”

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Mayor Dickens $2B infrastructure investment

Dig deeper:

Earlier this year, Mayor Andre Dickens announced a $2 billion, 20-year investment to overhaul Atlanta’s aging water infrastructure. For frustrated customers, relief may finally be in sight—but it could still be years away.

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The Source: FOX 5 spoke with Atlanta Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Greg Eyerly for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.

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Atlanta, GA

Man with gun arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport after making threats

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Man with gun arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport after making threats


The air traffic control tower at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Atlanta police are scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 p.m. Monday to discuss an incident that occurred earlier in the day at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

What we know:

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According to a source within the department, a man was arrested after allegedly making threats to “shoot up” the airport. Police reportedly found an AR-15 or a similar firearm in the suspect’s vehicle.

Investigators believe the threats were made while the man was on a video call with a family member. The suspect was taken into custody at the airport.

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OTHER AIRPORT STORY

What we don’t know:

Details about the exact timing of the events have not yet been released. Additionally, the name and age of the man is unknown to FOX 5 Atlanta at this time. Officials are expected to provide this information during the afternoon briefing, which will be livestreamed on FOX LOCAL and FOX 5 News Live.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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20-year-old woman injured in downtown Atlanta shooting

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20-year-old woman injured in downtown Atlanta shooting


Atlanta police say a 20-year-old woman was shot around 3:28 a.m. Sunday near Courtland Street NE and Andrew Young International Boulevard NE. (FOX 5)

Police are investigating after a 20-year-old woman was shot early Sunday morning in downtown Atlanta.

What we know:

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According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers responded around 3:28 a.m. to reports of a person shot in the 100 block Courtland St. NE. When officers arrived, they found a woman who had been shot.

Police said the victim was alert, conscious and breathing when she was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

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Investigators believe the woman may have been standing near Courtland Street NE and Andrew Young International Boulevard NE when she heard gunfire and realized she had been shot.

What’s next:

Detectives are continuing to investigate what led to the shooting.

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The Source: Information in this article came from the Atlanta Police Department via a post on the department website. 

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At ID Week, infectious disease experts talk about public health and AI in healthcare

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At ID Week, infectious disease experts talk about public health and AI in healthcare


On October 19, thousands of infectious-disease professionals — including doctors, researchers, and medical students — will fill the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta for Infectious Disease Week.

The annual conference, which runs through October 22, comes at a challenging time for the medical and scientific community: Vaccine hesitancy continues to spread, grant funding dwindles, and the government publicizes false claims about Tylenol’s risks.

To understand how infectious-disease leaders in research and clinical care are working through this era, Business Insider will be on the ground for talks about public health strategy, healthcare innovation, and the future of careers in the field.

This year’s ID Week will center on themes like artificial intelligence in healthcare and biopreparedness for infectious disease outbreaks, Dr. Yohei Doi, an ID Week chair representing the Infectious Disease Society of America, told Business Insider.

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“We have presenters who are experts in public health, and we’re looking forward to hearing their insights. I think public health has always been a theme, but it will be heavily featured this year,” Doi said ahead of the conference.

What to expect during ID Week

ID Week is a convergence of six professional organizations with different specialties: the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the HIV Medicine Association, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.

“Get ready for a bunch of nerds,” Dr. Sophie Katz, a pediatric infectious-disease doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and an ID Week workshop presenter, told Business Insider.

“There are so many interesting talks to go to at once, so it’s hard to choose what to do,” Katz said. “It’s fun to be in an environment with all of these people, learning about all the things at the forefront of science for ID.”

At a pre-event media briefing, a selection of researchers teased their upcoming ID Week presentations, which will highlight study findings on topics like the benefits of RSV and shingles vaccines.

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Doi said that the majority of attendees are medical doctors, with smaller yet growing subsets of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants attending.

The conference — which offers more than 250 events over four days — features talks on topics like:

  • Emerging infectious diseases
  • Antimicrobial stewardship
  • AI in healthcare
  • Pediatric bacterial infections
  • Prescription research and clinical best practices
  • Sustainability and equity in infectious-disease treatment

The event is also a useful networking opportunity, especially for medical students, said Doi. For example, the ID Week BugCrawl program provides curated networking opportunities and lectures for students and residents. There’s also the NextGen ID Lounge, a space inside the Georgia World Congress Center where medical students, residents, and fellows can mingle and listen to career-oriented talks by more seasoned infectious-disease experts.

“It’s probably their first big meeting to attend, and it’s a huge venue, so we have sessions where we walk through the conference with them,” Doi said. “And they get to meet with the most prominent people in the field, and just sit with and talk with them about life, career, and the research they do.”

Additionally, there are scheduled receptions, meet-ups, and group dinners for a variety of professional organizations, like IDSA and PIDS.

An infectious disease conference in the mecca of US public health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also located in Atlanta, makes the city “the mecca of public health in the US,” Doi told Business Insider.

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He added that ID Week plans to feature insights from experts formerly affiliated with the CDC and current CDC workers, though their availability is subject to change.

“Obviously, there are evolving circumstances with the government shutdown, so we have to plan for that,” Doi said, “But we’re still hoping to leverage our location to the extent possible this time.”





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