Wanda and Mark Adams are caught in the backwash of a June 2000 flood that forced them from their home. Federal money for repairs is inadequate for the work needed. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Despite the west Augusta home's appearance, Tuesday will mark one year since the last time the couple slept there.

''He still does things to keep it nice and livable for the neighborhood, if for no one else,'' Mrs. Adams said.

Step inside and it becomes clear why the home - with bare beams and exposed flooring throughout - is anything but livable. Mildew creeps along parts of the ceiling, and the smell of sewage and the mustiness of mold are stifling in the June heat.

One year ago Wednesday, the Commonwealth subdivision saw flooding so severe it became a top-priority story among local media - prompting involvement from local and state politicians and giving homeowners hope that they might be bought out by the state or federal government.

''We were told when this happened, 'It's not going to be solved overnight. It's going to take patience,''' Mr. Adams said.

But in the year since the flood, interest in their case has - like the water in their homes - dried up. And most homeowners have all but given up hope for any progress until the next heavy rain pours attention on their doorsteps.

''It's going to take us flooding again - something drastic and dramatic - for anyone to give us the time of day,'' said Dominion Court homeowner Heather Thompson. ''It's going to take us losing everything we have again.

''And it will happen again.''

Broken promises

In the days and weeks following last year's flood, solutions abounded.

Robin Williams, then a state representative, told the 21 Commonwealth homeowners that he was working to secure $800,000 in state appropriations to buy out their homes.

He then told homeowners they each would receive a $5,000 check from Gov. Roy Barnes' discretionary fund to cover their immediate expenses, such as food, clothing and appliances. Instead, the governor made the $105,000 available to flood victims countywide.

The Emergency Management Agency said that broken promise was something of a windfall for the rest of the community. The city, through applications for the grant, was able to document more than 80 homes that received flood damage, significantly increasing awareness and documentation of local flooding, agency director David Dlugolenski said.

''I worked with people in east Augusta, south Augusta and west Augusta - I went all over the county,'' Mr. Dlugolenski said.

''We recognize the problem in Dominion Way; we just have to put together a game plan,'' he said. ''There's a lot of things being done, but there's no short-term fixes.''

Far off solution

Attention to Dominion Way also threw into motion various state and federal efforts to investigate flooding at Interstate 20, which backs up to the Commonwealth subdivision.

The highway flooding solution was spearheaded by state Sen. Don Cheeks, who said he was working to secure state and federal dollars to build a $3.1 million detention pond where the Commonwealth homes are located. The pond would allow homeowners to be bought out, while providing a solution to the water overtopping problem at I-20, a federal flood evacuation route.

The Department of Transportation confirms that a study of the highway has been started.

But the findings of that study have yet to be released, creating frustration for homeowners.

Last year, the only solution being talked about was the detention pond concept at Commonwealth. But this year officials are speaking of alternatives to that plan, and there are no guarantees that solving the highway's flooding problems will solve the neighborhood's flooding problems.

''They're trying to determine what would be the most feasible way to correct the situation,'' Sen. Cheeks said.

''It's still being looked at,'' he said. ''They're still going to do something, but what, I don't know. I don't think anyone knows.''

Within the past six months, initial findings of the I-20 study have been completed, and planning and transportation officials are in the process of reviewing various alternatives, which eventually will have to be presented in a public hearing.

''That study's been going like gangbusters,'' said Terri Turner, assistant zoning and development administrator for the county's planning commission. ''It probably to the outsider still seems to be moving at a slow pace, but we're working on that.''

Homeowners in Commonwealth say they have become used to surveyors wandering through their yards for the study, although they've never been privy to its findings.

''You hear all these people coming out there to look at the creek, but nobody's done anything,'' said Dominion Way homeowner Jim Huckaby. ''Nada, zilch, nothing.''

Missed opportunity

Late last year, Augusta commissioners had the opportunity to add the four homes on Dominion Way to the list of homes eligible for a federal buyout program.

It would cost about $353,000 to buy the four homes, and the county would have to pay about $88,250. The rest would be matched with federal dollars.

But commissioners said the city - already strapped for money during a tight budget year - could not identify a funding source.

''It's going to take a long time because it takes a lot of money, and we don't have that kind of money,'' said District 7 Commissioner Jerry Brigham, who represents the Commonwealth community.

In several communities, including Commonwealth, it appears nothing can be done to correct the problem, short of spending the money to buy residents out, said Super District Commissioner Bill Kuhlke.

Neither Mr. Brigham nor Mr. Kuhlke has had contact with the Commonwealth subdivision recently.

''I haven't had any calls from there in a while because we haven't had enough rain,'' Mr. Kuhlke said. ''They're not having any problems.''

City officials, when asked to talk about progress since the June 20 flood, are quick to point out their recent adoption of one of the most stringent development ordinances in the state for building in the 100-year-flood plain.

Now, builders working in the lower fringe of a flood plain - also called the special flood hazard area - are prohibited from using fill dirt and are limited when clearing trees. The tougher laws should keep future development from exacerbating flooding problems throughout the county.

But because the ordinance is not retroactive, Commonwealth will see no immediate benefits other than avoiding even more runoff from upstream.

''Those houses should never have been built in the flood plain, and the local government should never have allowed them to be built in the flood plain,'' Mayor Bob Young said.

But the government won't always be able to pay to correct development mistakes when there are city salaries to pay and infrastructure to improve, he said.

''You have to understand that we had not had a history of flooding problems in this community that we've had since 1990,'' Mr. Young said.

A waiting game

The Adamses can't move back into their home because it was more than 50 percent damaged during the June 20 flood. National Flood Insurance Program guidelines, which the city subscribes to, prohibit them from obtaining a building permit to make improvements unless they raise the structure three feet.

They can receive up to $20,000 in federal money to elevate, but contractors estimate it would cost nearly twice that.

For the Adamses, the biggest difference between now and a year ago is that they are able to laugh a little about their situation.

And when they do cry, which is far less often, they're thankful they still have each other.

''The really scary thing, though, is wondering whose life is going to have to be lost to get things to happen,'' Mr. Adams said, his wife nodding in agreement.

''It's scary,'' she said. ''How deep it gets. It really makes you scared.''

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.