City one step closer to fixing stormwater issues in one Central Columbia neighborhood

The city could be one step closer to solve stormwater and sewer issues for one central Columbia neighborhood.

On Monday night the Columbia City Council will have the opportunity to hear from the public regarding the proposed demolition of two houses on Worley and Again streets.

The houses at 1104 Worley St. and 1105 Again St. were purchased in 2016 with the intent to demolish them in order to help address storm water and sanitary sewer issues in the area.

The houses have experienced flooding problems in the past in addition to sewer backups in wet weather. The Again Street house was built over the sanitary sewer main, making it difficult to maintain the pipe. The Worley Street house is close to a neighboring home, which makes it difficult to install a proper storm drain between them.

ABC 17 News spoke with residents in the past that expressed the storm water issues have been a problem since the 1980s.

“This problem has been on the city’s radar since 1983 and was in the city’s 10-year plan,” Katrina Boles, Again Street resident, said. “It was considered an immediate problem then.”

The estimation to demolish the houses is around $102,000 and funding will come from the stormwater and sanitary sewer utilities.

Public works officials say they would like to build a bus shelter near the property on Worley Street since it’s near the Health Department.