Council approves $15.6 million more for watershed consultants, with no extra time

Atlanta’s City Council voted Nov. 2 to authorize another $15.6 million for Stantec/SG Joint Venture’s watershed program-management agreement, allowing a $47.6 million ceiling without extending its term. The contract measure and matching budget transfer each passed 10–0 by consent vote, according to the council’s draft action minutes.⁠[1][2]

The votes advance the measures beyond the committee backing we reported in October. Ordinance 26-O-1582 authorizes the contract amendment and procurement waiver; 26-O-1581 supplies the matching funding. They cover the same $15.6 million addition—not two separate purchases of that amount.⁠[1][2]

The agreement began with an $11 million authorization in 2024. A first amendment authorized in March 2026 added $21 million, bringing the limit to $32 million. The newly authorized ceiling would be more than four times the original amount. Those figures are contract spending limits, not a tally of payments already made.⁠[1][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 money supports the management side of water and sewer work: capital-project delivery, cost estimating, regulatory compliance and digital systems. The legislation identifies water-meter and water-loss initiatives, Stormwater Utility implementation, Consent Decree activities and Georgia Environmental Protection Division compliance among the work it would support.⁠[2]

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. It attributes the increase to the level and intensity of services, not a material change in the agreement’s fundamental scope. Its stated reason for waiving procurement source-selection rules is that the increase exceeds administrative modification authority while continued service is needed for time-sensitive operational and regulatory obligations.⁠[1][2]

The companion budget measure transfers 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.⁠[1]

Council authorization does not itself make the amendment binding. The ordinance requires the mayor or a designee to execute it and deliver it to Stantec/SG before the city incurs an obligation. The records reviewed do not establish whether that execution and delivery have occurred.⁠[2]