Residents tell Bryan County commissioners flood damage persists on Highway 144 and Kilkenny Road; staff promises follow-up

Several residents used the Sept. 9 public-comment period to describe long-standing and worsening flooding in northern Bryan County and asked for immediate county action.

Billy Duggar detailed repeated flood events on property off Highway 144, presented photos and offered his own pump calculations alleging roughly 18.3 million gallons pumped off his land in the last month; Duggar asked the county to clear historic drainage basins and coordinate with the Georgia Department of Transportation. Staff told Duggar they had initiated stormwater study work and would follow up; county engineering agreed to meet with him to review possible solutions.

County engineering presented inundation modeling (digital elevation model) for the Aug. 9–11 rain event. Engineers reported that local gauges recorded between about 7.1 inches (University of Georgia gauge) and 10.5 inches (community gauges) during the event, said the ground was saturated and modeled flood depths on problem parcels ranging roughly from 0.5 to 2 feet. Engineers cautioned the model lacked full pipe data, limiting precision, and recommended targeted follow-up investigations and coordination with DOT where the state right-of-way intersects county drainage.

Rebecca Ricker described similar, chronic flooding at Kilkenny Road where both sides of the road drain into her corner lot; she said deep standing water has reached her driveway and foundation, required hotel stays and disrupted family life. County staff said they would revisit earlier DOT repair work and county ditch maintenance and coordinate next steps.

What happens next: engineering staff said they will continue analysis, meet with affected property owners and coordinate with DOT and other partners to identify feasible mitigation (culverts, ditch clearing, targeted grading and possible pipe work). Residents' numerical claims about pumped volumes were recorded as their calculations and will be part of the local investigation.