For years, the sewer system in this pocket of Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood has regularly overflowed, sending waste and debris into yards, walking paths and streams.
Residents on and around Green Street have long asked DeKalb County for a fix — and they're finally getting it.
But work has started at a less than ideal time.
With locals sequestered in their homes to wait out the coronavirus pandemic, they now get to listen to the not-so-soothing sounds of progress all day long.
“It’s as if they only drive in reverse,” resident Wendy Vance said.
Vance and other neighbors immediately surrounding the project site want the county to consider delaying work until stay-at-home orders are lifted. They say the noisy $1.2 million project, which involves replacing manholes and some 1,800 feet of aging pipe, makes it difficult to work, teach their kids and otherwise make the best of the unusual situation.
The project has also closed off a popular stretch of nearby walking trails, which would’ve otherwise offered a welcome outdoor diversion.
Since 2012, the Green Street area has seen the second-most sewer overflows in DeKalb County — a dubious distinction in a county that's under a federal consent decree to fix its frequent spills. Residents are grateful something's finally being done.
But the timing?
“It’s pretty bad,” said Vance, who works on coronavirus response for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a statement provided Tuesday, DeKalb officials said work on the project, which is expected to take six months, will continue as scheduled.
They also provided information on a newly discovered issue.
Contractors working on the Green Street project on Tuesday “discovered a 20-foot section of clay pipe had collapsed,” officials said. A “bypass pump” was installed to divert sewage around the damaged pipe until its fixed.
“DeKalb County will fix the pipe and continue the Green Street Sewer Replacement Project to protect the health and safety of the residents and the environment,” the county’s statement said.
