Water authority says demolishing home will benefit neighborhood

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — The Douglasville/Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority told Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland that spending $100,000 to buy and tear down a house will benefit all the other houses around it.

"The water problem was just so bad, something had to be done," said Betty Milam.

She lived in the home for 16 years before DDCWSA paid her to move.

The home, at the corner of Millwright and Rice streets, is at the bottom of a natural bowl. In a downpour the intersection flooded, overwhelming storm sewers and causing a localized safety hazard.

"The most cost-effective solution was to purchase the house, demolish it," said authority engineering manager Brian Keel. "This is a rare case for us."

Milam ended up moving to a home nearby.

"And I'm fighting back a tear right now, but things happen for a reason, and it's good," she said.

The home will be replaced by flood-control grading to divert water from the street at an additional cost of $40,000.

The flood control measures will take until the end of the year to build, according to Keel.

WSBTV