SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The cities of Sandy Springs and Atlanta begin mediation Thursday as Sandy Springs seeks a deal to take control of the water infrastructure serving the city.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul says aging infrastructure is causing water leaks and capacity issues, and the city wants to purchase Atlanta’s equipment and operate the system itself.

“We need more capacity, we need more flow, and we need more pressure,” Paul said.

Paul said some businesses are already experiencing problems with water pressure.

“We have areas like hotels, where at certain times of the day there’s not enough pressure for them to flush toilets above the third floor,” Paul said.

Paul also estimates that at least a third of treated water is being lost through leaks in the system.

Paul says the upgrades needed to the system would cost millions of dollars and believes Sandy Springs taking control is the solution.

“They don’t have the capacity to come in and do the multiple million dollars of upgrades necessary to bring this system up,” Paul said.

Atlanta launched a $2 billion plan last year to upgrade its water infrastructure following a series of major water main breaks. The project is expected to take about 20 years to complete.

DeKalb County has also launched a more than $4 billion plan to replace aging pipes and infrastructure. Some water pipes across metro Atlanta are more than 100 years old, while many currently active pipes were installed before World War II.

WSB Radio has reached out to Atlanta Watershed Management for comment but has not received a response.

WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.