A deluge of rainfall on Monday created more than just an inconvenience for many in Putnam County.
Downed trees were reported throughout the county, quite a few of them blocked roadways, according to reports. Putnam County Fire Department firefighters and Putnam County Public Works crews steadily worked to remove the trees to keep roads drivable.
Three roads, however, received more serious damage as the flooding caused the roads or ground to wash away completely, said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills and Putnam County Manager Paul Van Haute.
Around 2 p.m. Monday, the 100 block of East Riverbend Drive was impassable because the culvert pipe had washed completely away, leaving a huge gaping hole under the pavement.
That portion of the road was immediately blocked off by authorities “due to a failed culvert and significant erosion under the road,” according to the county public works department. Residents who lived at 24 East Riverbend Drive had to use Long Shoals Road to leave or get to their homes.
The road crew personnel began working on Tuesday morning to replace the culvert and repair the damage to the road. Completion of the project would take a couple of days, according to Van Haute.
“The Public Works crew is working diligently to get the roads passable and stabilized as quickly as possible,” he said.
On the other side of Spivey Road, the culvert on the 200 block of West Riverbend Drive was also flooded, and the road was closed Monday.
Residents who lived past the 200 block were granted temporary use of Water's Edge Trail in the gated community of Great Waters as their means of accessing their homes. West Riverbend Drive was reopened around 8 p.m. Monday. Rockville Springs Drive was also impassable Monday past the 500 block.
Sills made arrangements for emergency personnel to respond to any emergency medical calls by boat while the road was closed. After the rainfall stopped Monday night and the culvert was inspected, the road was reopened.
On Lake Sinclair, the flooding caused a residential boathouse to dislodge from the dock, and the boathouse, with the pontoon still attached, was reportedly floating into a cove near Crooked Creek. The owner was contacted, and later said on social media that J Key Marine dock builders called him “out of concern for boaters’ safety” and “they moved it and secured it to prevent any accidents.”
Various boats and smaller personal watercraft also were reported floating in both Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair, as were portions of docks, sea walls, downed trees, and limbs.
Sills said the flood gates of both Wallace Dam and Sinclair Dam were opened to release the heavy flooding of both lakes.
“At the Sills’ house, our rain gauge said we got five inches in 24 hours, but all in all, the county did remarkably well,” Sills said of Monday’s storm. “Nobody called us for a boat rescue from Rockville Springs, and the county laid gravel to help the people on Riverbend. We got no calls about injuries, so all in all, we did well.”