BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — A Brookhaven woman said she'll sue if that's what it takes to get a drainage pipe in her yard fixed by DeKalb County.
The county told Channel 2's Liz Artz the pipe belongs to Rebecca Page, who owns the 52-year-old house on Navajo Trail, where the old pipe is located.
Page said she didn't even know the pipe was there until last fall when she had sewer issues. A plumber discovered the drainage pipe that is buried under Page's front yard and hooks onto a county owned and maintained pipe.
Page said the pipe is leaking and causing erosion. Page told Artz the eroding ground is causing her yard to sink in, her sidewalk crack and she worries eventually it will create a big enough sink hole to swallow her house.
Attorney Clint Sitton has won similar lawsuits and said from what he knows about Page's situation, he feels she has a pretty good case.
He said if her pipe is attached to a county pipe that takes water from a county street through a county owned and maintained catch basin then Page's pipe is benefiting county and therefore the county would likely have to pay to repair and maintain the drainage pipe.
A spokesman from DeKalb County Public Works said the Pages will have to sue if they want the county to bear all expenses, but he said there is a citizen drainage program where the county would pay for materials. Page would have to pay for labor which she estimates to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
But the county would take over maintenance on the pipe after a year.
Page said her yard is not safe with all the kids in the neighborhood. She's moved her family out of the house, but maintains the pipe is not the reason for their move.
WSBTV
