Rivers above flood stage again after more spates of heavy rain
As Floyd County received another wave of heavy rain Wednesday, Floyd County Emergency Management Agency is preparing to see water rise in already flooded areas — potentially leading to sewage issues.
Director Tim Herrington and staff are watching four areas: Armuchee Creek, the Coosa River at Lock & Dam Park and near the state line, and Weiss Lake in Alabama.
“If they don’t release their water, it can start backing up on us,” he said about the downstream lake.
The Coosa River and Armuchee Creek were over three feet above flood stage as of noon Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The rivers had actually dropped about two feet since last week’s storm, but now they’re beginning to rise up even more than last week.
Herrington said they’re also watching the upstream Allatoona Dam, and Carters Dam in Ellijay, to make sure they don’t start releasing any water. If they do, the Rome rivers could flood significantly more.
Besides the heavy rain, Herrington said they’re not expecting anything particularly severe.
As the weekend approaches, the weather should begin to start clearing up and the rivers will begin to go down again. However, the ground is very saturated and will take more than a few days to dry out.
Rome Water and Sewer Director Mike Hackett said there will be a great impact on the sewer system.
Usually, the water treatment plant on Black’s Bluff Road processes about 6 million to 8 million gallons of water a day.
However, in the past week, they’ve been processing about 40 million gallons.
They’ve already had to report a sewer overflow near Kingfisher Trail to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The area in Silver Creek often sees spillages during heavy rain periods, Hackett said.
They’re continuing to keep an eye other low-level areas near the rivers that are equally affected.