DeKalb County advances water authority study, strictly rules out utility privatization

DeKalb County advances water authority study, strictly rules out utility privatizationCommissioners allocated $300,000 to evaluate the future governance of the county's water and sewer assets. While the creation of an independent water authority and component outsourcing are on the table, the board explicitly struck full privatization from the study's scope.

The board approved up to $300,000 to contract a firm to analyze whether the water and sewer system should maintain its current structure, reorganize, or transition to a Water and Sewer Authority.

An amendment was passed to remove 'privatization' from the study's scope after commissioners voiced concerns over profit motives driving up ratepayer bills.

The county will still consider 'outsourcing' specific functions, such as plant management or billing, as long as the county retains ownership of the physical assets.

In separate actions, the board approved over $45 million in capital contracts, including a $21 million gravity sewer capacity restoration project and $19 million for valve replacements.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a $300,000 allocation on March 24, 2026, to hire a consulting firm to evaluate the future governance and management of the county's water and sewer system. The study will determine whether optimum service delivery is best achieved through the existing municipal structure, the outsourcing of specific operational components, or the creation of an independent Water and Sewer Authority. During the meeting, the scope of the Request for Proposals (RFP) was significantly amended to explicitly ban the study of full utility privatization. Commissioner Terry strongly objected to the original inclusion of privatization, arguing that transferring public water and sewer assets to a for-profit entity would lead to higher customer bills and reduced accountability. "If you put public utilities in private hands with a profit motive, it just does not end well," Terry said, citing private power utilities as an example of high customer disconnection rates. The board unanimously accepted a friendly amendment to strike the word "privatization" from the study. However, Chief Operating Officer Williams clarified that the county will still evaluate the "outsourcing" of specific components—such as plant management or billing—provided the county retains ultimate ownership of the infrastructure assets. The potential creation of a Water and Sewer Authority drew interest from several board members. Commissioner Messiah noted that neighboring jurisdictions, including Clayton, Cobb, and Henry counties, operate under water authorities. She suggested an authority model could provide specialized oversight for water quality and help manage the heavy water usage associated with data centers. The governance analysis will build upon a separate, ongoing operational assessment of the Watershed Department currently being conducted by Malden and Jenkins, which is expected to conclude in the coming month. According to Williams, the goal is to complete the broader governance study by the end of the summer to determine the best long-term structure for the utility. In separate infrastructure actions, the commission approved a block of major Watershed Management contracts totaling more than $45 million. This included a $21,042,416 consent decree contract awarded to Southeast Pipe Survey, Inc. for major gravity sewer line capacity restoration, a $19,088,160 contract with GS Construction, Inc. for water and air valve replacements, and a $5,648,923 construction management contract awarded to BenchMark Management, LLC for the Shoal Creek Trunk Sewer Section 1 project.