Members of the Baquet family - Rudy, left, Phyllis, reading, Story, on floor, and Myrtle - at their apartment in Conyers, Ga.

When a Rockdale County judge wanted to revoke a man's probation on a shoplifting charge, the defendant happily agreed.
"That's what I want," said Jeffrey Alan Brumit to Chief Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation on Thursday.

Winn-Dixie Store Closing List...

Stormwater Pipe Collapses, Leaves 20-Foot Gap
Rockdale Citizen - Jul 13 2005

The Rockdale Citizen does not archive articles. We have done so for this one.

Rockdale Citizen
 
Stormwater pipe collapses, leaves 20-foot gap
By Sarah Barnes
Staff Reporter
sarah.barnes@rockdalecitizen.com

CONYERS - When Amber Cashwell was driving home from work last Thursday night on a stretch of McDaniel Mill Road, she thought it seemed unstable.
 
Considering the 20-foot hole that developed the next day when a large stormwater pipe collapsed, she was more than right - she was lucky.
 
"I couldn't believe the size of it when I saw it days later," she said. "I'm just glad it didn't happen that night."

Because of the heavy rains over the last weeks, a 72-inch pipe under McDaniel Mill Road collapsed last Friday, dropping a 20-foot stretch of two-lane road 20 feet down. The resulting gap is large enough to fit three cars.
 
Bob Taylor, the county's stormwater manager, said the pipe was about 25 years old and had collapsed from old age and the constant flooding over the past few weeks. Because of the damage, the county has closed the road from Flat Shoals Road to Smyrna Road, and Taylor said it could take two months to fix the hole.
  
"We're in the design process right now because the basin the culvert served has changed. There are a lot more people living there than 20 years ago," he said. "We have to redesign the culvert to match the current situation. At that point, we'll install the pipe and then begin repairing the road."

Taylor said the county could see more holes like the one at McDaniel Mill, unless it takes proactive steps in maintaining and inspecting stormwater pipes. The majority of pipes in the area are about 25 years old, which is the life expectancy of such pipes.

To date, the county has only fixed stormwater problems liked the collapsed pipe after the fact, but Taylor said change is ahead. Rockdale will soon add a stormwater management utility to maintain safe and efficient stormwater drains and pipes. The new utility is required to meet federal clean water regulations.

Taylor will present a proposal to the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 1, detailing the department's possible structure and cost. Based on early estimates, Taylor said the department will require a $2.1 million budget, which would be funded by user fees applied countywide.