A Valdosta neighborhood is empty tonight after people rushed to move out and beat rising water that could flood their homes.
Flood waters also overwhelmed the city's waste water treatment plant. That sent huge amounts of sewage rushing into waterways.
Moving trucks lined Meadow Brook Drive in Valdosta today as families emptied their homes and evacuated their flooding neighborhood. With water threatening to enter many homes, residents say they wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
"This is my home, this is where I raise my children, they expect to be able to come out here in the backyard and play, not swim you know in sewage and flood waters," said resident, Steven Cooper.
Frustrated residents say this is like a flashback to 2009 when President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for much of south Georgia. Today, residents are confused why four years after what was called a 100-year flood, water is threatening their homes again.
Neighbors say last night water started pouring into a nearby pool and they woke up this morning and it was completely under water.
"It looks as if somebody dropped the ball somewhere because as far as we can see there hasn't been anything done, there's sewage down in our back yard as I speak,' said resident, Thomas Schunhoff.
With all of the rain, city officials say the Withlacoochee Water Pollution Control Plant can't handle the capacity of rainwater flowing through the system. Over the past week it's resulted in millions of gallons of wastewater spilling into the waterways.
Officials say the only way to control the issue is to move the plant to higher ground. It's a $90 million dollar project that the city can't fund right now and FEMA has denied their multiple appeals for funding.
"This is the first time it's gotten up this high since the flood in '09, but you know we hope it's the last time. I don't know that I'll rebuild this time, I don't know that I'll do this again," said Cooper.
"Front yard, all around, it's a lot of water. We're just hoping and praying," said Schunhoff.
Officials say the Withlacoochee River has crested but water flowing into Sugar Creek will still rise, and it may take days for the water to recede.
City officials are looking at other funding sources to pay to move the plant. Last year, Lowndes County voters denied a renewal of the special local option sales tax that would have provided millions of dollars for the project. City leaders hope to bring up SPLOST for another vote.
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