Augusta, GA
I-TEAM UPDATE: Concerns continue about use of Augusta’s stormwater fees
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – City leaders say in a matter of weeks, they will replace a pipe causing sinkholes around an Augusta woman’s yard.
The homeowner has been fighting for years to get the city to fix the problem like many others paying a stormwater fee.
This is one of more than a dozen projects the city lists on its website under stormwater fees.
If you are a downtown commuter like most, then you’ve probably been caught up in stalled traffic at the some intersections.
Outside of downtown, homeowners are frustrated by years’ worth of stalled projects impacting their property.
The sinkhole grows larger, and patience grows shorter.
MORE STORMWATER PROBLEMS:
“It expanded two inches towards the shop,” said Chelsea Thurmond. “I finally started going out there and measuring now.”
News 12 met Thurmond a month ago — four years into her battle with the city of Augusta.
“The trench is what I now call it,” said Thurmond.
A war trench of sorts in the middle of no man’s land.
A city drainage pipe runs from the street through her property, straight to the sinkhole.
“We were told we would get answers but never heard from anybody. As taxpayers, I don’t feel like we need to harass the city to get something done,” she said.
But after years of patchwork jobs, there are still no real answers.
“I’ve tried calling and I haven’t heard from anybody,” said Thurmond.
The same week we first told you her story, engineering sent a crew to her house.
“They came and dug around a few places sprayed some red paint on the ground over there and dug right into our water line and busted that,” she said.
In an email, the director of engineering says he transitioned the project to a small capital project and his construction staff is “getting a fee proposal from our on-call contractor in the next few weeks they will schedule work.”
A work order from 2020 was also approved as a capital project, but city workers handled it, not a contractor. By handling, they filled in the sinkhole at the time, not replacing the storm pipe.
The director of engineering says the storm system is aging and there are multiple failures across the county. At that time in 2020, he had members of his team leave for other jobs.
“If the outdated infrastructure is any indication, I am almost positive I am not the only person with the same infrastructure issue around the city,” said Thurmond.
MORE FROM THE I-TEAM:
“Every time it rains, we end up with a hole in the yard. The more it rains, the bigger it gets,” she said.
Years of complaints and findings from an auditor in February do not add up.
Emails the I-TEAM received on Friday show the on-call contractor quote to fix the sinkhole at $170,000.
“I highly doubt it would have been that expensive. Instead of doing it all at one time when the issue arose so many years ago, they could have easily done that instead of choosing to waste taxpayers’ money by putting dirt in the hole. I could have put dirt in a hole,” said Thurmond.
Commissioners are working on a list of projects to dedicate $300 million in SPLOST funds next year, which is a separate fund from the stormwater fee.
The administrator wants the focus of the funds to go to infrastructure, but some elected officials are considering spending the money on a water park.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Volunteers came together Saturday to help clean up an Augusta neighborhood.
The cleanup took place on Wheeless Road and Dorn Road.
Jeremiah Atkinson started the event as a way to clean up trash dumped in the area and help the community.
He said they had at least 30 bags picked up as of Saturday morning.
“My message is if you see one piece of trash, pick it up and help Augusta clean it up because I feel like that would be more efficient, just pick up one piece of trash a day, just one to help out the community,” Atkinson said.
Organizers also provided snacks for volunteers.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
TikToker cleans father’s hoarded house – and goes viral
Madison Lovelle posts videos online while going through and cleaning her childhood home after her father died.
Housing costs are often the biggest Georgians deal with every month, so it’s important to try and save money where possible.
Last week, WalletHub released its ranking of the most affordable cities to buy a home. It analyzed 300 cities based on 10 metrics, with the biggest weight going to housing affordability and cost per square foot.
Best city to buy a home in Georgia?
Augusta ranked the highest among Georgia cities, ranking 8th overall and 3rd best in the midsized cities list.
Augusta real estate prices
According to Zillow, as of March, the median list price for a house in Georgia is $205,000 with a median sale price of $187,283. About 57% of sales are under the list price.
The average rent, as of April, is $1,365 per month.
Augusta cost of living
The MIT Living Wage Calculator reports the hourly pay needed to support yourself and/or your family, assuming full-time employment. For Richmond County (Augusta), it’s $20.31 for one adult, $28.16 for a two-adult household with one working, and $14.08 for a two-adult household with both working.
Children obviously increase the wage needed. Depending on how many adults are working, the necessary pay figures may increase by up to $13 for just one child, with more needed for additional children.
Worst city to buy a home in Georgia?
The Georgia city with the lowest ranking on the list overall was Sandy Springs. However, with 300 cities, landing at No. 151 doesn’t make it nearly the worst in the nation. Sandy Springs was No. 56 on the small cities list.
What are the best cities to buy a home in US?
- Flint, MI
- Detroit, MI
- Surprise, AZ
- Yuma, AZ
- Akron, OH
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Memphis, TN
- Augusta, GA
- Indianapolis, IN
- Cleveland, OH
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Senate candidate Derek Dooley made several visits to the area on Friday.
Dooley had stops in both Lincolnton and Augusta on May 29 and was joined by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for his “Georgia First” tour. He spoke about one of the issues he finds in politics.
“But the other piece of it is the corruption. People sit on these committees. They have access to information that none of us have. And then you look up 2 or 3 years down the road and their wealth is just skyrocketing,” Dooley said. “You’re outperforming every investor out there. And I think it’s shameful. I think it erodes trust. It’s something that I will never do.”
“Politicians were out there getting paid. They were coming back home. They’re raising money and campaigning while the government shut down,” Kemp said. “What Derek’s saying, if he’s up there, we’re not going to allow legislators to get paid. We’re going to take away their benefits. That way, you won’t ever have another shutdown again.”
Dooley is facing Congressman Mike Collins in a runoff for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
Photojournalist credit: Regynal McKie
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