ATLANTA, Ga. — Atlanta has restarted FLOAT, a relief program for water customers who have fallen behind, as the city works to collect a past-due water tab that tops $230 million.
The Department of Watershed Management announced the relaunch on Monday. The Atlanta City Council signed off on bringing the program back on Oct. 19. The unpaid debt is spread across more than 60,000 accounts, city officials said.
FLOAT is aimed at single-family residential customers whose balances are at least 61 days overdue. Help can include long payment plans, down payments as low as 2.5% of what is owed, late fees and fines wiped off the books automatically, corrections to accounts, and for those who qualify, a one-time grant or credit. Seniors and others living on fixed incomes are among the customers the city wants to reach.
Nothing happens on its own, though. Customers have to apply. Watershed Management Commissioner Greg Eyerly said the department wants to sit down with customers and work out a way to pay, and that the effort is meant to steady the utility while the city recovers what it is owed.
The window is limited. FLOAT runs through Jan. 31, 2027, and Eyerly said shutoffs for delinquent residential accounts will pick up after that date.
In-person help is offered at Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave. SW, and at department headquarters, 72 Marietta St. NW, where doors stay open until 6 p.m. through Nov. 6. After that, weekday help runs from 8:15 in the morning until 5, and appointments close at 4:30 p.m. The city also plans Saturday sessions at the C.T. Martin center in southwest Atlanta on four Saturdays: Nov. 21 and Dec. 19 this year, then two in January, on the 9th and the 30th.
