MACON, Ga. — Severe weather can sometimes be a problem in Central Georgia, but some folks in south Bibb say that rainfall consistently floods their roads, yards and sometimes their homes.
Marvin Land with the Macon Water Authority says he's heard the problems.
Land is the authority's storm water manager, and he says some of Macon-Bibb's 1,200 miles of storm drainage pipes are up to 150-years-old. Land says it's a $160 million issue.
"Trying to tackle [it] little by little," Land said. "A lot of the storm water structure in Macon-Bibb has had a lack of maintenance over several, several years."
He says the main issue comes from pipes that have been in place for longer than their intended life span.
"The issue is that we've got corrugated metal pipes that's lived its lifespan of 25 years. We've got terra cotta pipe that's definitely lived its life span," Land said. "So we're having to replace everything we can."
He says the water authority recently took over storm water from the county's public works department. The move came with a controversial storm water tax that started January 1.
Land says that tax helps pay for cleanup.
"We run three trucks every day to help clean out the system, and we run three street sweepers. Plus, we have a contractor out here helping us street sweep," Land said.
Land says the authority plans to hold a town hall meeting with south Bibb neighbors June 21. They don't have a location yet. He says if you have any storm water issues, call (478) 464-5600 and fill out a work order.
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