Putney family marooned by flood water - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Putney family marooned by flood water

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Horace Chuang has been stuck at home for a month Horace Chuang has been stuck at home for a month

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By Jennifer Emert - bio | email

ALBANY, GA (WALB) -  It's been a month since flooding rains pounded south Georgia. Forty-six homes in Dougherty County were damaged, but in Putney many people are still having problems. Some can't get to their homes.

Dougherty County Public Works is working to clear the water from the area, but engineers say afternoon rain showers aren't helping.

Horace Chuang is building up his driveway, after all he's been stuck at the other end for a month.

The last time his car left the driveway along Nichols Drive was March 30th. He's only been out twice once for a doctor's appointment, the other when neighbors helped him get more supplies.

"I couldn't stand it anymore, because my groceries were gone," he said.

The water in his yard has been deep and he had to find longer boots to get the mail. "This here is 14 inches, and it was too short."

He's not the only one. Dougherty County Public Works has two pumps working to clear the water from Putney, but overtime costs have kept them from running all night, right now they're turned off at 6:00.

"We're having to pump those so we can drop the water into areas that can receive it, just king of move it where you can," Larry Cook, Dougherty County Public Works Director. 

 Cook says there's been a standing water problem in Putney for some time and engineers are looking for a permanent solution. "The possibility of maybe trying to acquire some right of way for some additional pond storage. In some areas maybe putting in some forced mains and some permanent pumps."

It could prove costly, but residents are hopeful they'll find a solution.

"If they can do something, I'll be very happy," said Horace.

Chuang is hopeful that with the pumps running, he'll be driving again by week's end.

Dougherty County engineers plan to meet with the county commission next month to discuss their options for finding a permanent fix for the water problems in Putney.

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