Flooded out for years, Dougherty County homeowner gets relief—and neighbors, other flood-prone areas could be next

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Dougherty County commissioners will apply for a federal grant to buy out and demolish a chronically flooded Albany home—a move officials say will ease flooding for neighbors on the street and could open the door for other flood-prone homeowners across the county to get help too.

The county approved $554,278 Monday, Aug. 31 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program to acquire and tear down a property on Van Cise Lane.

The county must provide a local match of taxpayer dollars, totaling $128,900.75.

One family who lived on the street for nearly nine years said at a commission meeting that they dealt with chronic flooding caused largely by runoff from surrounding properties. The homeowner had already built a private pond and taken other steps to try to keep neighbors’ runoff off the property, but officials said that setup has actually made flooding worse for others nearby, since it holds more water on land that isn’t going anywhere.

“There’s really no reason why the home should have been built on that area to begin with, but that was well before our time and the current owner’s time,” District 4 Commissioner Russell Gray said. “Given that, there is a constant flood problem that needs to be mitigated.”

Why neighbors on Van Cise Lane should care

Once the home is demolished, the county plans to restore the land to a more natural, low-lying state so it can once again act as a place for water to collect—taking pressure off the properties around it.

“It will actually take a lot of the pressure off of the neighbors who still have water holding on their property, because this one just can’t hold anymore,” commissioner Gray said.

Officials are also exploring whether the grant would allow lowering the site further to increase how much water it can hold, which could further reduce flooding risk for the surrounding neighborhood.

The county will keep long-term stewardship of the land, ensuring it stays undeveloped and dedicated to conservation use.

Can other homeowners get their flooded homes bought out?

County leaders said Van Cise Lane isn’t an isolated problem—and other residents living in low-lying or flood-prone parts of the county could qualify for the same kind of help.

Dougherty County’s flat terrain includes numerous seasonal depressions that naturally collect water, and growth in rooftops, roads, and parking lots has added to runoff problems community-wide, Commissioner Gray said.

“There’s really not a lot of places for the water to go,” he said. “If you’re in a low-lying area, yeah, there’s plenty of houses that do get affected by seasonal, very acute instances.”

Officials stressed an important requirement of the federal process is its connection with a qualifying disaster event. Dougherty County officials say after a qualifying disaster, an eligible project sponsor has to submit a written request within 60 days to apply for possible EWP assistance. Individual property owners cannot submit this request.

Properties also have to meet certain federal standards to be considered. Officials warn a property’s history of flooding does not automatically make it eligible.

“We’re just not in the business of buying out houses that have intermittent flooding problems,” the official said. “But if there is a problem, and it’s in the county, we’ll do our best to help mitigate those issues as best we can.”

County leaders reiterated that a would-be sponsor must submit a written request to USDA for assistance. In this case, Commissioner Gray said that sponsor is the county itself.

Dougherty County officials say there is not currently an open application process in the county.

Residents interested in the program are encouraged to get info here.

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