I-TEAM: Number of residents’ repairs grow for city of Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - From broken pipes and electrical problems to sinkholes and potholes, Augusta’s list of problems grows longer along with the wait time to get it fixed.

It took ten days for visitors and residents at the marina to get water back after a pipe broke.

From downtown to the southside, the I-TEAM has been tracking the city’s response to broken infrastructure.

The marina was built 30 years ago, and like the pedestrian bridge, it didn’t come with much of a maintenance plan place and it shows.

Jo Nash: “These are the hoses where they got us hooked up.”

Liz: “So that’s how you are getting water right now but it’s still not at the pressure it should be.”

Its not enough water pressure for a shower.

MORE FROM THE I-TEAM:

• Washed-out road in Wagener creates holes in community
• A look at dam failures in South Carolina, Georgia
• Concerns continue e of Augusta’s stormwater fees
• Augusta homeowner questions use of stormwater fees

Liz: “So it went from 30 minutes to fill a glass of water to a little trickle right now?”

Nash: “Right.”

Liz: “And that’s with hoses out here.”

Nash: “Right with the hoses.”

And it’s certainly not enough to clean Nash’s home on the water.

“I had a person ready to help clean my boat and eight days ago we were about to get started and no water,” said Nash.

Water gushes into the river instead of into her boat.

“It wasn’t fixed fixed so it could stay fixed,” said Nash.

Francis Christian followed the same process as he did last year when the pipe broke.

“Understand 311 called the utilities department they came out, looked at it, and agreed it is broken, but nothing happened,” said Christian.

A report to 311 shows the utilities closed out his call after spending an hour inspecting the broken pipe.

“Who would close it when you can obviously see there is a problem,” said Nash.

Just as apparent as the problem we showed off Richmond Hill Road in July.

The work order shows engineering dedicated special funds to hire a contractor to replace the pipe, but it did not happen.

Instead, city workers put a bandaid on the problem. They filled in the sinkhole and closed the work order.

The long wait to fix a problem has led to more calls to 311.

The director of 311, Kelli Walker, told commissioners she’s already had more than 600 requests for service this year — requests that are required to stay open until all work is completed.

“Most of our departments, 95%, they follow that to make sure constituents are receiving accurate information. Right now, currently, our engineering department is closing out those requests which probably leads to a lot of the phone calls and concerns you see because the work hasn’t been performed yet,” said Walker.

ANOTHER I-TEAM INVESTIGATION:

• Silent Alarms continue inside the Augusta Fire Department
• City officials work to fix silent alarm issues
• Augusta leaders stall discussion on silent alarms
• City leader calls for answers on silent alarms at Augusta Fire Department
• Radio silence continues in silent alarm investigation
• Silent alarms within the Augusta Fire Department

There are ten requests for services at the marina so far this year, all of which show closed.

“This is my backyard. This is what I wake up praying to every morning. I come out here and commune with my God, with our God, and say thank you for what I see out here,” said Nash.

The beauty of the Savannah River attracts out-of-towners too. Nash works at the visitor’s center families come to inquire about the marina.

“I feel so blessed. I just really wish someone would catch on and say hey let’s keep the blessing going why not it’s a beautiful part of Augusta,” said Nash.

The marina is on a long waiting list of county projects for s-plost dollars — that’s the extra tax you pay to update county-owned property like Fleming Park, where faulty wiring electrocuted a boy in 2018.

Just this week, commissioners approved a contractor to bring Fleming Park up to code, six years after Melquan Robinson died.

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