Who We Are

The intersecting crises of aging infrastructure and excessive water billing have culminated into a national threat to water rights across the United States. Long before water-sucking data center campuses loomed over Dekalb County, Georgia, decades of disinvestment in our water and sewer system and a hyperfocus on short term revenue by successive administrations saddled the county’s water customers with languishing leaks, unpayable bills into the tens of thousands, and liens levied against homes and businesses over disputed water debt.  

What began in 2016 as the scrappy Facebook group, Unbelievable Dekalb Water Bills- a hub for crowdsourcing advice on navigating skyrocketing bills without a practical system to explain or resolve them- has evolved into Dekalb Water Watch, a powerful coalition of residents and organizations intent on establishing the first comprehensive water affordability program in the Southeast. 

We believe that the human right to water is sacred, and should never be sacrificed for the county’s budgeting failures. We believe in a future without draconian policies of disconnection threats. Research and programs across the country have demonstrated that prioritizing water access produces greater and more sustainable long-term revenue for local economies, than areas where a premium is placed on maximizing short-term revenue at the expense of the community’s human rights. 

The county’s role as a water provider is to protect everyone’s access to it- through the creation of programs that ensure an affordability standard, a fair and consistent dispute process, and the abolition of cruel and senseless tactics such as levying liens for water debt, and pursuing it even after it has been rendered uncollectable by the state’s statute of limitations. 

There is a role for everyone in achieving our goal of access-first water policies in Dekalb County.  Join us!