ATLANTA, Ga. — Atlanta watershed managers ended a multi-day boil notice at 8 a.m. Wednesday for South Fulton-area customers — including Fairburn, Union City, Palmetto and Chattahoochee Hills — after laboratory checks found the public supply clean.
Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management said the latest samples show drinking water that satisfies federal EPA rules, so households and shops in those towns can again use the tap for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth without a boil step.
The precaution started Sunday, Oct. 11, after trouble at the Chattahoochee treatment works. Sampling crews stayed on the system through the week and only cleared the last South Fulton County cities once Wednesday morning results posted.
By Tuesday afternoon, southwest and northwest Atlanta neighborhoods had already been restored while the broader South Fulton County list stayed under the boil order overnight. Managers had floated a full release nearer 10 a.m. Wednesday, then finished roughly two hours sooner when the final numbers came back clean.
Watershed leaders still have not spelled out the exact plant failure that forced Sunday’s alert. The Wednesday clearance is the last step for the remaining South Fulton County accounts that were still boiling water Tuesday night.
Residents who stockpiled boiled water can go back to ordinary tap use. Anyone who wants extra caution can run faucets for a short flush and check their local utility page for any leftover instructions.
Metro Atlanta drinkers outside the named cities were not under the final Wednesday advisory, but the Chattahoochee plant serves a wide wholesale footprint, so the rapid test-and-clear cycle mattered beyond the five towns on the lift list.
