Sandy Springs approves project to rework water reuse program

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs is preparing to pay thousands to drain and repair large underground water cisterns at City Hall, which were reportedly installed incorrectly when the sprawling City Springs campus was built in 2018.

The cisterns, which hold nearly 300,000 gallons of water below City Hall and the City Springs green, were meant to manage dirty runoff from parking lots and roadways, and clean water from roof areas, to be used for irrigation, city fountains and feeding back into Marsh Creek, an offshoot of the Chattahoochee River.

However, after the City Springs campus was completed, city officials reportedly learned a contractor for the project deviated from the designs and installed a system that wasn’t watertight, which caused leaks and one of the cistern’s walls to collapse.

At a City Council meeting March 21, councilmembers unanimously approved a $389,752 contract with Reeves Young to build an underground water diversion system that will allow the city to periodically drain, clean and inspect the cistern.