Another $15.6 million for watershed consultants wins committee backing

Atlanta’s City Utilities Committee voted 4–0 on Oct. 27 to recommend another $15.6 million for Stantec/SG Joint Venture’s watershed program-management agreement, along with a matching budget transfer, according to the committee’s draft minutes. The increase would raise the agreement’s ceiling from $32 million to $47.6 million—without extending its term.⁠[1][2]

The proposal described in our earlier report now has committee backing, not final approval. Both measures are listed next for the full Atlanta City Council on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.⁠[1][2]

The proposed ceiling would be more than four times the original $11 million authorization in 2024. A first amendment authorized in March 2026 added $21 million, bringing the limit to $32 million. These are contract spending limits, not a tally of payments already made.⁠[2]

Watershed Management projects about $20.90 million in third-year needs, including $8.98 million in new service requests. With about $5.30 million available for that contract year, the department says it needs approximately $15.6 million more to support anticipated work through April 24, 2027.⁠[2]

The work includes capital-project delivery, cost estimating, regulatory compliance and digital systems, with support for water-meter and water-loss initiatives, Stormwater Utility implementation and Consent Decree activities. The department says it is moving program-management functions into multiple operational units and needs the incumbent contractor to preserve knowledge and avoid disruption during that transition.⁠[2]

The contract measure, 26-O-1582, also would waive the city’s procurement source-selection provisions. The department’s stated rationale is that the increase exceeds the authority available for an administrative modification and that continuing the existing agreement is necessary for time-sensitive operational and regulatory obligations. It attributes the added cost to the level and intensity of services, rather than a material change in the agreement’s fundamental scope.⁠[1][2]

The companion budget measure, 26-O-1581, would transfer watershed reserves into the program-management project: $15 million through the water and wastewater commercial-paper fund and $600,000 through the subordinate-lien revenue-bond fund. The two ordinances provide funding and contract authority for the same $15.6 million addition—not two separate purchases of that amount.⁠[1][2]

Even if the contract ordinance becomes law, the amendment would not bind the city until the mayor or a designee executes it and delivers it to Stantec/SG.⁠[2]