Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed wants a report on his desk within a week dealing with ways to stop the to repeated flooding of sewage and stormwater in the low-lying neighborhood of Peoplestown.
Two separate storms last week sent a noxious mixture rocketing from buried sewer lines into yards and basements in the neighborhood a few blocks south of Turner Field.
This week, city crews were repairing fences, cleaning up debris and clearing storm drains to prevent water from backing up. The city plans to bring together a task force of engineers to recommend solutions.
On Wednesday, Reed told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he wants feedback from Peoplestown residents about how drastic the city's actions to prevent the chronic flooding should be. A construction project to fix the antiquated sewers could rip up the neighborhood and take years, while less ambitious options might be less wrenching.
"I want my team to come back to me with some alternatives," Reed said. "The neighborhood needs to determine...the level of disruption to come, because this could have serious impacts on quality of life.
Some residents who have complained for years about flooding during heavy rains say they are skeptical that the city is willing or able to prevent the next nasty flood.
The flooding and property damage comes as Atlanta is in the midst of spending $2 billion upgrading its sewer systems to comply with federal regulators' demands that it stop fouling creeks and other waterways with untreated sewage.
One major problem: Unlike the vast majority of Atlanta neighborhoods, Peoplestown still has "combined" sewer systems that carry both sewage and stormwater during heavy rains.
"There is no quick fix," said Janet Ward, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Watershed Management.
On Monday, Reed checked out the damage and gave his number to frustrated residents.
"I'm a little more optimistic this time, since it's the first time we've had the mayor involved," said Amy Sink, whose property on Ormond Street flooded last week. "I have to trust that he is going to keep his word."
Christina Nixon has lived in the area for five years and said she has experienced at least one flooding incident per year at her 1920s Craftsman-style home. Nixon said a mixture of sewage and stormwater more than 10 feet in the air out of a manhole during last week's rain, flooding her back yard. She worries about damage to her home's foundation.
"(Reed) said he would make it a priority to find a solution that was fair," Nixon said after chatting with the mayor. "I don't know what that means, exactly. I don't know how long that will take."
It's already taken too long for Kevin Lynch. He and several other residents prepared a lawsuit accusing the city of failing to maintain and repair its sewage and stormwater drainage systems.
After last week's storm, Lynch said he had to clean up caked feces and toilet paper off his concrete basement floor. He said it's his fourth incident of flooding since September 2009, and he's skeptical the city will do anything without legal pressure.
"The city just takes the approach that they don't believe you," Lynch said.
AJC photographer Phil Skinner contributed to this article.
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