Atlanta floods Westside residents with sewage & lies
Years of Watershed mismanagement coming to a head
Join The Law Office of Meghan S. Jones and dozens of affected Westside Atlanta residents on the steps of City Hall (Mitchell Street side), on Thursday, February 29th at 10:00 AM EST for a news conference addressing the City of Atlanta’s biased treatment of Westside residents who have been dealing with sewage from Atlanta’s failing infrastructure entering into their homes for years. The City’s misconduct has led to large scale property loss, sickness and the loss of life.
We will convene after filing the first of what we anticipate will be a torrent of lawsuits seeking relief for Westside residents. Together we seek justice for impacted victims and demand that the City of Atlanta prevent this catastrophe from reoccurring in Atlanta’s low-lying historically black neighborhoods. The Law Office of Meghan S. Jones is representing approximately 40 plaintiffs in this matter and more than 16 households--that number is growing each day.
On September 14, 2023, a brief but intensive rainfall overwhelmed Atlanta’s aging and decrepit combined stormwater sewer infrastructure. Geysers erupted from manholes. Flood waters emerged from streetside storm drains and filled Westside homes with water. “It felt like a mini-Katrina,” recalls Terri Samuels-Gordon, a displaced resident who helped save her friend's infant daughter from drowning, “water was everywhere and people cried as their livelihoods and possessions washed out”. “Over five feet of water filled my home in less than 30 minutes,” laments Mahdi Chaney, a Hunter Hills homeowner and Atlanta Native, “If this storm had happened at night, my 2-year daughter or 80-year old mother could have drowned”.
The City of Atlanta has known about this problem for years yet ignores federal consent decrees which order the utilization of sound engineering practices to fix the underlying issues. Instead, the City minimizes its responsibility for the damage and the harm to vulnerable, legacy residents. The City has been hit with lawsuits in the past, but according to Atlanta’s attorneys, it’s just “part of doing business”.
In the aftermath of previous floods, City Officials have lied about the nature of the water that entered homes. “When the City visited my house after a flood in 2021, they told me it was just rainwater” says a Historic Westin Heights tenant, “however, when my house was recently tested, we found my home still contained dangerous levels of mold and sewage bacteria. Since then, I have developed chronic, debilitating, and lifelong health issues which I believe were caused by my exposure to these toxins.”
While the City of Atlanta claimed to be offering full support, there has been little assistance on the ground. “I called Councilman Byron Amos’ office 12 times seeking assistance,” recalls a 6 year English Avenue resident whose kitten drowned in the flood “but the city said they closed my case.”
Residents continue to feel the ripples of the flood to this very day. Wayne Pittman, a lifelong Westside native, recalls repeatedly cleaning the Washington Park home his great-great uncle built in 1934 from a backflowing drain’s noxious runoff, stating “I pay my taxes and this is not fair; I just want [what’s] fair”.
Press Conference to be held on front steps
Atlanta City Hall, (Mitchell Street Side)
February 29, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Contact:
The Law Office of Meghan S. Jones, LLC
Meghan S. Jones, Esq
1100 Peachtree St, NE, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 678.895.0005
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