To our City of Decatur community:
We want to thank you for your patience and perseverance during the water issues of the past four days. As of Monday night we are no longer under a boil water advisory. While the city provides many essential services, including police and fire, DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management manages the water pipes and sewer system for everyone in the county, including the City of Decatur.
Though we could not fix the source of the problem, the city did try to minimize the impact on city residents and businesses. This included:
- Keeping the public updated with the limited information that we could get via TheDecaturMinute.com blog, the Decaturga.com website, Smart911 call and text alerts, @DowntownDecatur Twitter feed and the city’s Facebook page.
- Ending Saturday’s Slide the City event early.
- Establishing two cooling stations on Saturday at the Decatur Recreation Center and Ebster Gym.
- Bringing in a water filtration tanker to provide water to seniors and special needs residents who could not easily boil water. Firefighters distributed more than 500 gallons of drinkable water.
- Having the Fire Department refill the water in the air conditioning system at Clairmont Oaks so residents of this senior housing facility remained cool.
- Coordinating emergency services with DeKalb County Fire Services so that back-up equipment and water tankers were available.
Our community came together and supported one another by checking on neighbors and sharing water, letting those who did not have running water shower in your homes, supporting local businesses that remained open in compliance with the boil advisory and most important, remaining calm during a trying situation.
We hope a situation like this never happens again. However, emergencies can occur at any time. Here are steps you can take now to be better prepared in case of a future emergency:
- Sign up for Smart911 alerts. The city uses the Smart911 system for phone and text alerts. It is very easy to create a Smart911 profile at Smart911.com. If you already have a Smart911 profile please log in now and make sure you have checked the box to receive emergency alerts. If you need help setting up a Smart911 profile or would like city staff to meet with your neighborhood group or homeowners association, please contact the Decatur Fire Department at 404-373-5092 for assistance.
- Also sign-up for CodeRed alerts. While the City of Decatur uses Smart911 for alerts, DeKalb County uses the CodeRed system. Since you are a resident of both the city and the county, it is a good idea to sign up with both systems so you can be sure to never miss an alert.
- Keep extra bottled water and non-perishable food stored at your home at all times. There should be enough for several days for every member of your household, including pets. More information on how to build an emergency kit is available at Ready.gov.
The Decatur City Commission
Jim Baskett, Mayor
Kecia Cunningham, Mayor pro temporare
Fred Boykin, Commissioner
Scott Drake, Commissioner
Patti Garrett, Commissioner
