In late January, Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management (DWM) broke ground on a massive $145 million stormwater diversion system along the North Fork of Peachtree Creek near I-85 and Lindbergh Drive. The system will hold up to 15 million gallons of combined runoff and raw sewage, so sewage won’t spill into and pollute the creek during heavy rains.

Rendering of trail deisgn.

DWM will place the holding tank below the I-85 overpasses. An overflow pump will sit directly above the current Cheshire Farm Trail that edges the creek’s North Fork. The trail will be closed for about three years. DWM will replace the trail with a 12-foot-wide paved walkway stretching from Lindbergh Drive to Cheshire Bridge. The city will also install an overlook, lights, a security camera connected to the police department, and native plants and trees.

“It may be a bit of an inconvenience for a few years, but everybody in Atlanta wins once Peachtree Creek is no longer at risk from stormwater and sewer overflows,” said John Spangler, chairman of the South Fork Conservancy. “We wholeheartedly support the project and can’t wait to picnic alongside the clean creek.”

The diversion is the largest stormwater project undertaken by Atlanta since a federal judge ordered the city to clean its water in 1998. The consent decree requires Atlanta to separate its water and sewage systems to prevent raw sewage from contaminating waterways.

For more information, contact DWM’s Public Information Officer, Bruce Morton, at 404-546-3392 or bkmorton@atlantaga.gov.