FOLKSTON, Ga. – A Georgia family reached out to News4JAX, asking for help with horrible flooding.
Neighbors say that this has been going on for years and that they want the county to take responsibility.
The homeowner who News4JAX spoke with just recently moved in and says she did not know the property flooded before she bought it. She says it’s not listed as a flood zone.
The woman, who asked not to be named or shown on camera, lives in the Spring Lake neighborhood in Folkston in Charlton County. She shared with News4JAX photos of her property after it rained over the weekend. In the images, which were taken Sunday, her property is flooded. This happened just days after she moved into her new home last Wednesday.
“It has been a nightmare. We have lost so much sleep over it already just watching out of the window hoping this little light rain doesn’t flood the entire property,” she said.
Fortunately, the flooding didn’t cause any damage. But the woman says she just found out from neighbors that this is a long-time reoccurring issue.
“Pretty much everybody has told us the same thing — it’s flooded, it has a history of it,” she said. “I honestly wouldn’t have purchased if I knew that home had a history of flooding.”
Several homes on Spring Lake Road have massive ditches in front of their properties. One neighbor says these ditches overflow with water during heavy rain, causing massive flooding because there’s no way to drain out the water.”
“We do strongly believe that a storm drain needs to be placed to prevent from further flooding,” the woman said.
To get help, the woman sent a series of emails to Charlton County. In response, the county brought out crews on Wednesday to fill some of the ditches. To neighbors, it’s a step in the right direction, but it’s still not a permanent solution.
News4JAX also reached out to Charlton County. At this time, the county says, there are no plans to install a new drainage system, but it plans on having crews come out to the area and clean backed-up pipes. If this doesn’t work, the county says, it will use its own sources to figure out a new plan.