By Jonathan Copsey / Staff

For those unaware, the past two months have added up to some of the wettest weather on record for Georgia. North Fulton was spared the horrific flooding of its neighbors but there was still damage done that many residents might not be aware of.

“We’ve probably got about $200,000 of new capital projects or major maintenance that we’re having to deal with,” said Roswell Public Works Director Stu Moring. “We’ve identified those and are making requests for FEMA.”

According to Moring, there are at least six projects in Roswell that require immediate repairs due to significant damage.

“They [the damaged water and sewer lines] are not horrendous, they are not life threatening, but they do require pretty immediate action. If it rains again, we’ll have some extra problems to deal with,” he said. Roswell has only one storm water repair crew and, since the rains, they have been working fulltime making repairs and identifying problems.

But how much problem can a little water be? For starters, the sheer amount of rain has caused the ground to become so saturated with more water than can be absorbed by the soil; instead it will sit on top of the ground. This causes flooding. Even an inch of rain, with nowhere to go, can cause problems. One such problem is overloading the city’s aging water systems.

During the major storms of September 21, a drainage pipe “blew out” and became a risk for damaging Riverside Road. According to Moring, this occurred at a junction box, where several drainage pipes meet and converge. There was such a sudden torrent of water that the pipes dislodged from the box, damaging it.

A similar problem has occurred at Creekmont Way, in the Terramont area. Excessive flow disconnected a pipe from a concrete junction box; the pipe then settled into the ground almost 18 inches. This alerted authorities to a more serious, and costly, problem – the pipe was lying on an old pile of garbage that was more than 15 feet wide and eight feet deep.

“It’s not garbage but probably vegetative stuff they dumped there and buried thinking nobody would ever know. Well it rots and settles. And we have to deal with it,” Moring said. The pipe replacement project was originally estimated to cost roughly $24,000. Due to the debris, which has to be fully excavated before new pipe can be installed, the price has more than doubled.

Applications have been made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funds to help pay for the damage.

“$150,000 or $200,000 is way better than what some of our neighbors have to deal with,” Moring said. “But for Roswell, that’s a lot of money.”

“But we’re taking it all in stride.”