East Cobb Residents Still Reeling From Fall Flood As Cobb Considers Stormwater Fee

EAST COBB, GA — It's been six months since a sudden overnight storm flooded East Cobb and caused millions of dollars in property damage, and homeowners took to a town hall this week to voice their continued frustrations.

According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the county received roughly 250 reports of damage due to the September floods. Ever since then, affected residents have been begging county officials to do something about the stormwater infrastructure.

When the floods occurred, federal authorities said there wasn't enough damage to warrant a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declaration, which would've allowed the county to receive more funding to fix the damages.

Cobb did receive a Small Business Administration disaster status, but that only offers low-interest loans in certain circumstances, the MDJ reported. Essentially, the county doesn't have the funding or staff at this point to fix the damages quickly.

At a town hall this week, one attendee said the relief that's been offered hasn't been enough to make a dent.

"Short term is, how do we fix the stuff from September? And if there's no support for that, then why are we on this call? You know, I'm very frustrated. I think everyone else is, too ... and I don't hear us doing anything here," the attendee said, according to the MDJ.

The September flooding forced a longtime county issue into light: the county's development has far outpaced the advancement of its stormwater infrastructure.

• Read more: Separate Stormwater Fee Study Underway In Cobb After Fall Floods

In November 2014, commissioners approved a change in water and sewer rates that established lower rates for customers inside city limits due to the Cobb Water System not providing stormwater services for those customers. That's how stormwater work is funded as the fee schedule exists today.

A better approach would be charged based on a property's impervious surface, which contributes to how much runoff a property creates, rather than basing it on how much water and sewer a given property uses, said Judy Jones, Cobb's water agency director, in December.

She said exemptions and discounts could be given to property owners who take extra steps to reduce the amount of runoff their property makes.

Studies dating back as early as 2005 recommended a separate fee to finance stormwater needs, according to city documents. Of the 1,800 miles of storm drain pipes in unincorporated Cobb County, about 70 miles have reached the end of their service life and need replacing.

Additionally, the Cobb Water System noted in city documents that there's a "significant backlog" of stormwater projects, including 93 pipe failures that have resulted in sinkholes. The fiscal year 2022 budget for the stormwater management division is $2.26 million, and the stormwater Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget is $4.5 million.

Over the last 27 years, the water system spent an average of $5 million per year on stormwater CIP projects, according to Jones.

"The Water System does not have sufficient staffing or funding to complete these projects in a timely manner," Jones wrote in a December memo.

In response to East Cobb homeowners' requests, Cobb commissioners directed the county's water department was directed to study the need for a stormwater fee and craft proposals in December, Patch previously reported.

The proposed stormwater fee would create a separate line item on Cobb water bills for stormwater maintenance and improvements. There's also a separate proposal to expand the limited services offered by stormwater management.

On Tuesday, Cobb County commissioners will consider spending $200,000 to contract with an aerial photography and surveying firm to move that project forward, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.

East Cobb resident Hill Wright, who leads a citizens group for storm damage advocacy called Save East Cobb, said the old infrastructure and lack of funding is why the county needs a separate stormwater fee.

"It's going to come about by helping people in the community understand ... that we've got 40-, 50-year-old infrastructure that's failing all over the place, and that we as a county don't have a way to pay for it," he said, according to the MDJ.