Tom Chumley points to the area behind his house that used to be a pond. Dirt and debris has filled the Reed Creek tributary, which causes a greater risk of flooding during rains.JIM BLAYLOCK/STAFF

Stormwater issue fires up residents

Build-up of sediment, silt over time is leaving many ponds in Columbia County high and dry

Web posted April 5, 1999

By Robert Pavey
Staff Writer

Bill Tiller has spent decades enjoying the dark, tranquil waters of the lake he built in 1956 off Hereford Farm Road.

Its quiet beauty even led him to name it for his wife.

Today, their 58-year marriage remains strong.

But Lake Jean, he fears, is dying.

``It's filling in,'' he said. ``It was gradual at first, but now it's accelerating, and it gets worse every day.''

The silt and mud flushing into the 7-acre lake originates across Hereford Farm Road, where Columbia County rezoned huge vacant parcels for apartments and tiny homes.

Construction began last year. Now the lake's once-clear water is the color of creamed coffee, and jutting sandbars are rising from shallow headwaters.

Mr. Tiller and homeowners around Lake Jean are angry.

The county government, Mr. Tiller said, caters to developers whose objective is to pack as many units on a parcel as they can -- leaving nearby residents to endure the consequences.

``You can fight it, but they totally ignore you,'' he said. ``When big developers want all those units on one place, you have to play ball.''

County officials, however, say development plans are checked carefully to ensure no one will be harmed. And projects above Lake Jean are no exception.

``We've gotten real tough on erosion and sedimentation control requirements,'' said County Engineer Jim Leiper.

Lake Jean residents, Mr. Leiper added, are merely seeing discoloration from fine particles of sand washed from construction sites upstream.

``It's aesthetically unpleasing,'' he said. ``But it'll go away in time.''

Time will tell who is right in the Lake Jean situation. But if Mr. Leiper is wrong, and the lake is filled with mud, it will be too late to do anything about it, Mr. Tiller said.

Sign of things to come

Lake Jean is merely a symptom of a broader problem with stormwater that is affecting ponds and subdivisions all across Columbia County's densely developed Martinez and Evans areas.

Soon it will affect every homeowner's pocketbook, too.

Last month, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a jury verdict that held Columbia County responsible for stormwater runoff from subdivisions along Oakley Pirkle Road that filled a private pond with mud.

The landowner, S.E. Doolittle, claimed the county failed to require developers of upstream subdivisions to include proper stormwater systems. He was awarded $70,000.

After an unsuccessful appeal to Georgia's Supreme Court, the county paid the award, said Doug Batchelor, Columbia County's attorney.

An order requiring the county to restore Mr. Doolittle's property remains under negotiation.

In another stormwater-related lawsuit against Columbia County, Martinez resident Scott Washam says the county's lack of stormwater planning led to repeated flood damage to his home on Crystal Creek Court.

Mr. Batchelor said the Washam case -- in which the plaintiff seeks $250,000 -- is being handled by the county's insurance carrier.

But in the meantime, the county has applied for grants to buy eight homes in the Forest Creek subdivision -- including Mr. Washam's -- as part of a plan to improve stormwater flow in the county.

Because of the pace of growth in compact areas like Martinez and Evans, more lawsuits over stormwater drainage are likely, Mr. Batchelor said.

Placing blame

But the county, the lawyer added, doesn't shoulder all the responsibility.

``The legal answer, basically, is that upstream development is supposed to comply with ordinances and silt barriers, retention ponds, etc.,'' he said. ``The county's position, and I think the law of the state, is that downstream property owners' claims are against upstream development.''

The county, Mr. Batchelor said, sometimes makes a convenient target.

``People think the county's just easy pickings,'' he said. ``But people forget that when you dam a creek, you're plugging up the stormwater drainage system that God provided us. Ponds, over time, are going to silt up.''

Residents like Tom and Lisa Chumley, however, feel the county -- and perhaps state authorities as well -- should play a larger role in stormwater management.

The Watervale residents live in front of what used to be the headwaters of a nearby pond. Then it became a marsh.

Now it's mostly silted in with tires, even a bicycle, protruding from mud and sand. ``We get toys, sometimes nice toys,'' Mr. Chumley said. ``Somebody's old dishpan, beer bottles, you name it.''

The nearby pond, according to geological maps, once was 12 feet deep, he said. Now it's barely a third of its original depth. The reason: dense development upstream.

``Even if it wasn't the county's fault, at least they could hold a property owner liable for their own pond,'' he said.

Mr. Chumley said his homeowners association is pondering a lawsuit over stormwater damage linked to development. Columbia County is a potential defendant.A big price

At West Lake, one of the largest subdivisions in Martinez, the scenic, 34-acre Bowen Lake is flanked by some of the area's most beautiful homes. And residents like Michael O'Grady are concerned.

Silting has accelerated in the last five years, he said. ``We used to have a moderately good waterfront; now it's more of a marsh.''

Although the county is planning a series of costly improvements to ease stormwater problems, Mr. O'Grady noted that dredging or deepening lakes won't necessarily resolve stormwater flooding.

``People think sediment is related to flooding,'' he said. ``If Bowen Lake is sedimented and only 2 feet deep, it has no more or less flood-carrying capacity unless it's lowered ahead of time.''

Mr. Leiper said solving the existing problems -- and preventing new ones -- is perhaps the local government's most massive undertakings ever.

He estimates it will take 15 to 20 years to solve many of the current conditions.

``We've got to start at the bottom and work up,'' he said. The cost to protect property along Reed Creek alone is $21 million.

County homeowners will be forced to finance the projects through a new ``stormwater utility'' that will impose a monthly fee on residents -- about $3.50 per household.

For people like Mr. Tiller, the county's long-term stormwater projects may be too little and too late.

``There's no way to halt progress,'' he said. ``But from here on out, there won't be any more keeping up with it. That lake'll be filled in so full there won't be nothing but a branch running through the middle.''

Homeowners along the lake are already talking to lawyers. And it's quite likely, he added, that the lawyers will be talking to Columbia County.

``They've never had to assume any responsibility before,'' Mr. Tiller said. ``But now they're going to have to.''

Robert Pavey covers environmental issues for The Augusta Chronicle. He can be reached at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 119.