MACON, Ga. — A sinkhole, pine straw debris, and renovations costing over $100,000 are all due to flood damage at Dr. Alan Justice's office.
"We had our first episode with flooding in 2002. It was a major flood. The city came in, looked at all the infrastructure," Justice said.
Justice says the city did some minor fixes that lasted 15 years, but now, it's gotten worse.
"In July of this last month, we had another major flood, the same thing happened, the infrastructure failed. The city came down looked at it and said, 'Well we're going to turn this all over to the water authority now,'" he said.
They're still repairing flood damage from the previous storms, which Justice says isn't cheap.
"The first time back in 2002, we paid an excess of $150,000, which most of it we got reimbursed by insurance. Last month when it happened, the business owner had to pay over $100,000 out of her pocket," Justice said.
County Spokesperson Chris Floore says the pipes in the area can't handle the rainwater.
The Public Works Department is working with the water authority to find ways to keep the pipes from clogging.
Justice says this affects business all over downtown.
"They need to address this issue or it's going to happen again, or it's going to happen somewhere else," Justice said.
For now, he's focused on the next round of potential storms from Dorian.
"Whatever day this hits, we're going to put sandbags in front of the entrances to downstairs. That's all we can do because we can't let it happen again," Justice said.
Floore says the city's engineering and public works departments are sending crew members down to check out the larger pipes for any clogging issues over the next couple of days.
He says their engineers met with a representative from Justice's business to show them potential issues with the building's draining system that could be contributing to the flooding.
RELATED: TRACKING DORIAN | Dorian gaining strength, expected to become a major hurricane this weekend
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