Julie Richmond grew up in Miami. She lives outside Atlanta now, but she went back recently,

stayed with her parents for an uncle's funeral.

Relatives had flown in from Boston and Georgia and everybody planned to gather after the

service at the Richmond's peach-colored house. We had three tenths in the in the

yard. Had tables, chairs, everything set up.

The family was preparing all kinds of food, chicken, red beans, and rice and salad.

Julie was all dressed up in a black pant suit and heels. It had been raining and the morning of the funeral.

We got everything set up for after the funeral for you know people to come back

and we have sewage on the side of the house right there in front of the house.

Sewage, oozing up from the ground and into the yard, Julie was mortified.

It was embarrassing, yes.

To have your family there and just see that. It's very embarrassing.

She took off her jacket and sprang into action.

I went and tried to clean it up and my dad tried to go and take the snake and it's crazy. You know, we have the limo waiting for us to get in there and then here we are we dealing with this.

So it was just it was just sick.

Sickening.

This kind of thing happens all the time in the neighborhood. Julie's parents live in Little River, a

low-lying community named for the canal that runs a few blocks from her parents' house.

Many houses aren't connected to the county sewer system. They use

aging septic tanks which back up when the groundwater gets too high. Something

that's been happening more and more as the sea level rises.

Oh my goodness that area, when it rains or hurricane, you know when hurricanes bring a lot of rain, oh my goodness, it's terrible.

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