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DeKalb County water group wants all disconnections paused temporarily

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  July 9, 2025 7:41am EDT
DeKalb County
FOX 5 Atlanta
Water coalition wants DeKalb disconnections paused

Water coalition wants DeKalb disconnections paused

DeKalb County Water Watch Coalition wants county leaders to pause water disconnections immediately.

The Brief

    • The DeKalb County Water Watch Coalition is urging an immediate pause on water disconnections until an affordability resolution is adopted.
    • The group is also calling for a "meaningful" amnesty program to help residents behind on their bills.
    • County officials recently paused a planned 10% rate hike and said shutoffs only affect unresponsive, long-delinquent accounts.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A local advocacy group is calling on DeKalb County leaders to immediately halt all water disconnections and strengthen support for struggling residents.

What they're saying:

The DeKalb County Water Watch Coalition is urging the county to pause shutoffs until an official affordability resolution is in place. The group is also pushing for what it describes as a "meaningful" amnesty program to assist residents who have fallen behind on their water bills.

What we know:

Their demands come just days after DeKalb County leaders agreed to pause a scheduled 10% increase in water and sewer rates that was set to take effect July 1.

RELATED: DeKalb County pauses plan to increase water rates

The county's CEO has previously stated that the county will not pursue mass disconnections. According to officials, current water shutoffs are only affecting long-delinquent accounts where customers have not responded to repeated outreach attempts.

The Source

  • FOX 5 Atlanta was present at a press conference by the coalition on Tuesday. 

DeKalb CountyNews