Flooded homeowners win almost $1M from Atlanta

The Atlanta City Council voted Monday to pay nearly $1 million to the owners of two Buckhead dwellings who blamed flooding in their residences on the city’s inability to maintain storm water drains.

The owners of the homes on West Andrews Drive, near Austell Way, filed a lawsuit last year in Fulton County Superior Court. They alleged their homes were damaged by constant flooding caused by storm water runoff and raw sewage backups caused by the city’s failure to maintain adequate storm water and sanitary sewer drainage systems.

City officials countered the problems were largely caused by private drainage structures that were not the city’s responsibility, according to court records.

The settlement is $987,500.

William Applegarth, who lives in one of the homes, said he had complained to the city about storm water and sewer backup problems since the 1970s.

“The city never really took any significant steps to resolve the problem,” said Clint Sitton, an attorney who represented Applegarth and former neighbor Richard P. Clark Jr.

Applegarth, 88, said he hoped the lawsuit will push the city to better address storm water issues.

“I’ve been having these problems for a long time and I wanted to get something done,” said Applegarth, a retired engineer.

Atlanta is midway through a $4 billion effort to overhaul its aging water pipes and sewer system. As the work progresses, dozens of homeowners have seemingly run out of patience with flooding and other problems they blame on Atlanta’s government.

From the beginning of 2005 to March 2008, the city paid more than $9 million to settle 215 claims on water, sewer and storm water problems. Several dozen cases are still in the court system.

Through a spokeswoman, Atlanta Watershed Management Commissioner Rob Hunter declined comment Monday on the settlement. In March, Hunter said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the city has an active storm water management program and is working on an inventory of its public storm water infrastructure. Hunter said at the time that the city has annexed some storm drains, but has no duty to alleviate all flooding inside city limits.