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Johns Creek views outlook on stormwater sustainability By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
A feast for the senses
ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA
Ethiopiques Café and Restaurant co-owner Liza Abebe toasts with a glass of the restaurant’s house-made Ethiopian honey wine called tej April 11. Read story, Page 10.
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Fulton School Board weighs pay hike Page 3
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Historically, Johns Creek has had minimal dedicated funding toward preventative maintenance and prioritized repairs to its stormwater system. But the stormwater utility, adopted in 2021, has given city officials more bandwidth to address major issues. At its April 11 work session, the Johns Creek City Council listened to a presentation provided by Johns Creek Stormwater Utility Manager Cory Rayburn on the city’s stormwater operations. At the same time the stormwater utility was adopted, Rayburn said the city adopted Extent of Service in a “headwall to headwall” approach, allowing the city to go onto private property to address stormwater infrastructure connected to public right of ways. Extent of Service expanded the city’s stormwater assets from 11,000 to 23,000, which includes mostly corrugated metal pipes, catch basins and headwalls. Once the life cycle of corrugated pipes ends, at around 35 to 40 years, Rayburn said pipes begin corroding, rusting and falling apart to form sinkholes and collapsed roadways. “The idea is to prevent this level of damage to those corrugated metal pipes
See WATER, Page 8