Until recently, the city’s embrace of mixed use water projects seemed to have more to do with the sheer unpopularity of water infrastructure investments than it had to do with any actual appreciation for the projects’ other uses. Major infrastructure upgrades fell victim to basic political calculus: a long-term benefit with an immediate cost equals inaction.

Atlanta could have raised the money to pay for a dam in 1948, just as it could have raised money for wastewater treatment upgrades in the 1970s or water supply system improvements in the 1980s and 1990s. But, because the initial project costs were high and the benefits were dispersed over decades of future use, a succession of administrations passed the buck. Instead, municipal spending was focused on more politically popular infrastructural projects, such as airports and sports stadiums.

In today’s post-Flint era, however, in which the dangers of outdated water systems are splashed across newspaper headlines, the political equation for water projects may be changing. Certainly, decades of water disputes have instilled in Atlantans a sense of the gravity of the region’s problems.

Still, much of the old political calculus may linger on today. There are many different ways for the city to improve its water supply issues, and some are certainly more popular than others.

Take, for example, Atlanta’s aging pipes. Many of the city’s water infrastructure is original from the first Hemphill Station plant. These 120-year-old pipes have reached the end of their estimated functional life, and system leaks waste a mind-blowing 14.65 million gallons of water every day. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to replace the aging mains: they’re located in the heart of Atlanta’s downtown, and they’d need to be excavated from underneath Atlanta’s most expensive real estate and most congested roads.

Who would want to be blamed for years of annoying rerouting and snarled traffic when there are other, more popular ways address the city’s water concerns?

Whatever the city’s motivation may be, Atlanta’s new Bellwood Quarry park is sure to improve the urban recreational landscape – and the city’s water supply – for future generations of Atlanta residents. I do hope, however, that the city continues to work on its toughest water problem solutions in addition to the ones that are easy to sell.