Atlanta officials issued a boil water advisory for the downtown corridor on May 22, 2026, after an internal power failure at the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant. The City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said the warning was issued out of an abundance of caution.

The advisory affects residents and businesses in the downtown area, and city officials said it followed public notice guidance from the Georgia EPD. DWM said it is actively monitoring operations and system pressures across the affected area while the alert remains in place.

Anyone in the impacted area who experienced low water pressure or a complete outage should boil water before using it, or use bottled water instead. Water should be boiled for one full minute after it reaches a rolling boil. The public was also told not to drink water from public water fountains within the impacted downtown corridor.

Infants, older adults and people with immune deficiencies were urged to take extra caution. The department said there is no set time for the advisory to be lifted, and it will stay in place until official testing and sampling are completed and the department is formally cleared to rescind it.