DeKalb's Water and Sewer Infrastructure in Brookhaven
Updated 4/12/2024
Running under and through virtually every street in the City of Brookhaven are potable water (water) and sanitary sewer (sewer) assets owned and operated by the DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management.
These assets include manholes, underground pipes, service laterals (pipes from the main pipelines to customers), valves, fire hydrants, water meters, and other appurtenances. The City has no authority to maintain, repair, and/or replace these assets. Only DWM or its contractors may work on DWM infrastructure. Use the links below to report water and sewer issues.
To report issues in the ROW related to Water or Sewer System failures or emergencies do one of the following:
- Email DWM to Report a Water or Sewer Issue, DeKalbWaterOps@DeKalbCountyGA.gov
- Report your water or sewer problem through DWM's online reporting portal (https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/form/all-water-quality-and-water-sewe)
- Call DWM at 770.270.6243
The best option is to email DeKalbWaterOps. They'll respond with an email listing the Work Order number (WO#), which can be used to track the progress of a repair.
To help the City become aware of the issue, once DWM has issued a Work Order, please submit a Brookhaven Connect Service Request with the address, pictures, and the DWM WO#. We can add it to our log, and the WO# allows us to also track progress with DWM.
DWM's infrastructure is aging and failures in the ROW are common. When there is a failure, they typically create sinkholes, areas of subsidence / depressions, in the case of a broken water main, "geysers," or otherwise damage City-owned streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, or unimproved areas. DWM's response to these failures is multi-faceted.
Typically, DWM outcomes are as follows:
- Active failures with leaking pipes: quick response to provide a point repair. These are typically temporary band-aids sufficient to hold until more permanent repairs can be made. Surface restoration typically does not occur at this time.
- Active failures with no visible leaks Option 1: Usually quick initial response for the investigation phase. Repair work may or may not be initiated at this time. Follow-up Work Order created. Who ultimately responds depends on what the DWM investigator believes the nature of the problem is. Surface restoration typically does not occur at this time
- Active failure with no visible leaks Option 2: As in Option 1, typically there is a quick initial investigation. However, no other action is taken, including future restoration. These cases are difficult to resolve as more often than not, the failure in the road or ROW is related to a past DWM repair where the restoration and/or backfill and compaction was insufficient.
Current List of Open DWM Work Orders in City Rights-of-Way
HOW YOU CAN HELP Most of the Contractors and other utilities in Brookhaven provide surface restoration at the conclusion of their underground utility work. DeKalb's Watershed Management is unique in this sense. One group typically conducts the underground work while another performs the surface restoration. However, they have no urgency in completing the work.
Public Works maintains an active list of DWM project sites that have remained unfinished for more than 30 days. Click the image above or see the bottom of the page to access a current table. If you see new unfinished work in the road, more than likely it is an unfinished DWM project. Please send us a report through Brookhaven Connect along with an image, and it will be added to this list/table.
