Atlanta officials issued a boil water advisory for the city’s downtown corridor on May 22, 2026, after an internal power failure at the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant disrupted operations. The notice covers residents and businesses in the affected area and tells anyone who lost pressure or water service to boil tap water before using it or switch to bottled water.
The Department of Watershed Management said the warning was issued out of an abundance of caution and followed public notice guidance from the Georgia EPD. Water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth should be brought to a rolling boil for one full minute before use, and the department said infants, older adults and people with immune deficiencies should take extra care. Public water fountains in the impacted downtown corridor should not be used.
For now, there is no set time for the advisory to be lifted. City officials said they are monitoring operations and system pressures across the area while official testing and sampling are completed, and the notice will stay in place until the department is formally cleared to rescind it. Until then, the practical rule for anyone in the downtown corridor is simple: do not assume the water is safe just because it is running.
The advisory matters because it affects a dense part of the city where workers, visitors and businesses rely on public water throughout the day, and the city is still working through the testing needed to end the notice. Residents can follow the Department of Watershed Management on Facebook, X, Nextdoor and Instagram at @ATLWatershed for updates.
