After years, sewage still spews during storms in south Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - More than 30 homes are uninhabitable because of flooding last week in a south Augusta neighborhood.

Alarmingly, the flooding didn’t come from outside the house but from within. Overflowing toilets, sinks and shower drains spewed sewage-tainted water that swirled through homes.

And residents are still cleaning up as they stay in hotels or with relatives.

People who live off of Argonne Drive said water was coming from every direction, including out of a hole in the middle of the street. Neighbors described the water as sewage.

“The water came up 3 foot. So everything that was 3 foot is pretty much gone,” said Hank Jones, friend of a victim.

The problem stems from aging infrastructure in Augusta.

Cracked sewer pipes allow stormwater into the sewage system, which becomes overwhelmed. The water also gets into the pipes through manholes and other entry points.

But what goes in must come out – often in another area.

The south Augusta area suffered the brunt of the damage during last week’s storms, sinkholes caused by collapsed utility pipes.

In the Yates Drive area, dozens of houses are uninhabitable after water came up inside homes.

HOW TO GET HELP:

• Call the Augusta-Richmond County Emergency Management Agency for help at 706-821-1156 or 311 for city services like removing trees and debris in roadways.
• The Red Cross is assessing damage and is ready to offer help, if needed. If you need help, call 800-733-2767 anytime.

Not far from Yates, sewage-laden water bubbled up out of manholes on Virginia Avenue, contaminating yards and streets, as well as Rocky and Butler creeks.

Despite the stormwater fees every Richmond County customer pays, this happens during many large storms in Richmond County – and it’s been going on for years.

“Augusta is actively evaluating the wastewater collection system for defects that can allow rainfall inflow and infiltration,” city officials said in a report on last week’s spillage. “We have recently corrected some of these issues and we are developing projects to address other areas which contribute to these types of problems during major rainfall events.”

Parts of the city have been prone to flooding for years, and the stormwater fee put in place in 2016 was supposed to help with that.

As to whether it really has, years of coverage from News 12 may answer that question:

• As the city collects stormwater fees, what’s the status of ongoing issues?
• Some Augusta leaders have questions on stormwater funds
• As city collects $10M in stormwater fees, many wonder if money is going down the drain
• Concerns heighten over lack of benefit of stormwater fee
• Leaders hope to answer more questions on county stormwater fee
• Homeowner says stormwater fee doesn’t help with constant flooding

News 12 visited the residents of Virginia Avenue two years ago after sewage bubbled up from a manhole during a storm.

Neighbors then wondered where their stormwater fees were going.

“It’s astronomical when I come home and I have to smell this. Or I have to walk through this, or my neighbors can’t even get to their house because there’s 3 feet of sewage in their front yard,” neighbor Wayne Ditty told us in 2020.

Ditty told us he’d seen sewage rolling down the road at least four times last year. And Ditty and his neighbors told us they wanted see something done about it.

Yet two years later, it’s still happening.

Aside from coming up inside houses, sewage spilled out into roadways and creeks.

Among the major spills was one at the sewage treatment plant at 1820 Doug Barnard Parkway. The stormwater invading the sewage system exceeded the pumping capacity at the sewage plant, causing an overflow of 538,589 gallons, affecting Butler Creek.

Other major spills included:

• 37,800 gallons of contaminated water from a manhole at 2722 Mike Padgett Highway
• 28,960 gallons of contaminated water from a manhole at 1625 Doug Barnard Parkway
• 10,650 gallons of contaminated water from a manhole at Argonne Drive and Catalina Drive

Minor sewage overflows were from manholes and cleanouts on June 22-24 at :

• 3306 and 3312 Tobin St.
• 3101 Wyman St.
• 2521 Argonne Drive
• 2101 Virginia Ave.

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