Driller Mike Gets Atlanta A Step Closer To New Reservoir

Susanna Capelouto • Oct 10, 2018

Driller Mike has completed a 5-mile tunnel from Bellwood Quarry in West Atlanta to the Hemphill water treatment plant.

Credit Al Such / WABE

The city of Atlanta is one step closer to creating a new reservoir that will hold a 40 day emergency water supply.

A massive drill called Driller Mike has completed a 5-mile tunnel from Bellwood Quarry in West Atlanta to the Hemphill water treatment plant.

Once completed the reservoir will hold 2.4 billion gallons of water.

“The construction of the Westside reservoir is a commitment by the city of Atlanta that to ensure that our residents or businesses are not blindsided by a drought or some catastrophic event,” Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms said at a news conference Wednesday.

The next step in the project is lining the 400 foot deep tunnel with concrete.

Watershed management officials hope to complete the reservoir project by the end of next week.

The new park around the quarry will eventually become Atlanta’s largest public green space.