Rain Not Welcome Sight For Some In Columbia County

Columbia County, GA—All of the wet weather is a welcome sight for many of us, but families living on Kings Bridge Road, in Columbia County, say every time it rains, they get a sinking feeling.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but for the Olvera family, the wet forecast has caused unrest in the household. They’re still cleaning up from a disaster that happened Wednesday night.

Jennifer Olvera, Columbia County, GA: “We started hearing the toys come on, by themselves, in the garage, so we opened it, and the dog comes out running and there’s water everywhere. We called the fire department and they came.“

Carpets were ruined; belongings had to be thrown out.

Jennifer Olvera: “All the wet stuff, because it’s humid; and it doesn’t smell that good.“

Saturday night, the street flooded again. It’s not just a steady stream, the Olveras say. Jennifer showed us how high the water pooled around their fence…she says it was so deep, her little sister couldn’t walk through it.

This family is not alone. Many other residents on Kings Bridge Road have severe flooding issues.

Jennifer Olvera: “I don’t know if I’m going to have termite issues, foundation issues.”

Residents blame the problem on drainage issues in the neighborhood. They say the pipes in place can’t hold the capacity of water they get when it rains heavily.

Eugene Gojda, Kings Bridge Road resident: “It gets runoff from Adventure Crossing, it gets runoff from all these new parking lots, these new strip malls. It has nowhere to go but downhill.“

There have been storm water workers out looking at the pipes, but residents say they were told it would take $3.5 million to fix the problem…money the county doesn’t have.

Olvera: “There’s no money. They won’t have money until at least a year from now, and I don’t know how much longer we can wait. A year? We could have several rains before the end of the year.“

The Olvera family says, they can’t wait a year…they’ve already moved into a hotel.

While some people pray for rain, neighbors on Kings Bridge Road hope for a dry spell.

Olvera: “I live constantly with the fear every time I go to sleep and it’s raining, is this going to be the one that’s going to flood the house?“

Many families on the street say they’ve gotten lawyers involved.

We’re told storm water workers were back out this morning, taking a look once again at those drains.

Columbia County EMA Director Pam Tucker says water problems this week have led several families to evacuate their homes.