FULTON COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Heavy rain caused more than a dozen homes in the southeast Atlanta neighborhood to flood last week.
On Monday, Mayor Kasim Reed took at look at the area, walking through thick brush as residents pointed out an opening in the ground they believe is part of the flood problem.
Residents in Peoplestown said when their basements and yards filled with raw sewage last week it was a continuation of a decade-long problem.
Crews with the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management (DWM) said the flooding problem was from storm water runoff.
Neighbors claimed by the sight and smell of things, it was indeed sewer water. They expressed their concerns at a community meeting held this past weekend.
Following that meeting Reed announced DWM would make its cleaning contractors available for those residences at the city's expense.
During his tour, Reed promised residents he would also work toward a long-term solution to the flooding.
"In the stack of complaints I have in my hand go back to 2007, I don't really think it's about the past. I think it's about stopping people from being harmed," the mayor said.
The mayor ended his tour just as it started to rain. But he offered the residents his home phone number in case they needed to reach him.
Residents like Michael Sink are optimistic the mayor will come up with a solution to the flooding in their neighborhood.
"I'm optimistic that he is going to follow through with his word and that he's going to work toward a solution soon," Sink said.
Reed said he will revisit the area to check on the cleanup process over next few weeks. And he plans to update residents on a solution to the flooding problem.
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