BRASELTON, Ga. — Residents in the Riverstone Park community in Braselton say they chose to settle down in the neighborhood for its peaceful and quiet character.
However, some homeowners are now explaining it hasn’t been so calm and relaxing ever since a nearby retention pond was constructed.
Homeowner Donald Bellew, who has lived in his home for over a decade, said that in the last year, he and his neighbors have experienced intense flooding that is now causing damage to their properties.
“You can hear the water flowing like the Chattahoochee almost,” Bellew said.
Bellew and his neighbor Mario Lara said that the runoff into their yards began shortly after a retention pond was built by Northeast Georgia Medical Center. That retention pond sits directly behind Lara’s home, and he said it creates flooding even when it’s not raining.
“I first thought it was nice when they started building it because there was a lot of trees back there and once they cleared them, I didn’t have as many leaves to rake in the fall. But then the runoff water started,” Lara explained.
Bellew’s home is two doors down from Lara, and he said the runoff has damaged his outdoor living area.
“It hits my fence, goes underneath my fence and floods the whole back yard," Lara said.
The home that sits in between Bellew and Lara is now vacant. The former resident told 11Alive that she moved out because she was afraid the home was going to sink.
“The foundation from the kitchen window all the way across to the garage is literally popping up from the flooding," Bellew said.
Bellew explained that he’s contacted Hall County, City of Braselton, and Braselton NEGMC officials but hasn’t been able to reach any resolution.
“My hands are tied now, and I have nowhere to go but to you guys,” Bellew said.
We did reach out to Braselton NEGMC, and they declined our request for an interview.
The City of Braselton released the following statement:
"The Braselton NEGMC project is within the unincorporated Hall County jurisdiction and the Riverstone Subdivision is within Braselton's jurisdiction. The Town of Braselton, Hall County, and the hospital are working together to investigate and identify a solution to the problem.
It is not yet been determined that the hospital pond is the sole source of all the water seen in the photos below. The lots are all at the bottom of a hill and retaining walls were constructed by either the homebuilder or the homeowner without any measures taken to direct runoff to the sides of the lots to flow to the street. The runoff issue could be a combination of both discharge from the hospital’s pond and short, intense rain events resulting in significant sheet flow downhill to the back yards."