MACON, Ga. — Rain and wind battered much of Central Georgia Tuesday as strong storms rolled through. A spot in south Bibb County that normally sees plenty of standing water stayed mostly dry.
Flooding in south Bibb County and Nowell Estates is a decades-long problem the Macon Water Authority says they're determined to fix. While work could go on for another couple years, one neighbor says the work they've already done is helping.
"My yard would flood, and it would be halfway up our wheels on our vehicles," Scott Giffin said.
Standing water is fairly common in south Bibb County. It's part of Giffin's life in Nowell Estates.
"There have been times when the road has flooded here, the water coming across the road. Eventually, it would stop raining and the water would go down. But the rain started coming more often," he said.
The floods came more often, too. Some neighbors in Nowell Estates say it happens with even a light rain. Since the water authority started work to clean up drainage ditches, Giffin says it's gotten better.
"Maybe in an hour, this will all be gone," he said of some puddles still in his yard. "So, it's really fast and really efficient now."
Last week, the authority approved more than $220,000 to continue addressing stormwater problems in the area. Our partners at Mercer's Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism report that will cover 15 fixes in a south Bibb drainage study.
The authority plans to fix flooding in Nowell Estates with a series of new drainage ditches and retention ponds. Last year, Michel Wanna with the authority said it could cost around $2.3 million. Fixing all of south Bibb would cost around $60 million.
According to the authority's projected schedule, construction in Nowell Estates should start in April. The project should finish by late 2025.
Our CCJ partners report it could stretch into 2027 if certain homeowners don't sign over easements, or small pieces of land, to the authority.