By Bonny Burrows
Maryka Collins remembers all too well the devastating floods that left her sweeping water from her Tynong home in 2011.
And she remembers just as clearly once again finding the inside of her home watermarked and ruined by floodwater in early 2012.
The events and their aftermaths are forever etched in her mind, and Ms Collins wants nothing more than to move on.
However, a “reluctancy” by Cardinia Shire Council to clear the drains adjacent her Railway Avenue property which flooded on both occasions have her fearing of a repeat incident.
Since January, she has been in contact with the council trying to get the drains cleaned to reduce the likelihood of flooding reoccurring.
She said water remained stagnant in the drain for long periods of time due to overgrown weeds.
Ms Collins said she keeps being told work would be done “soon”, but to no avail.
Initially, in text messages seen by the Gazette, she was told by the council that the work would be undertaken before winter.
Now it’s spring and Ms Collins feels hopeless.
“What I am supposed to do? It’s been going on since January. I keep hearing ‘next week Maryka, or next month Maryka’. It’s now September – that’s nine months,” Ms Collins said.
Ms Collins said the delays are causing frustration and anxiety for her and her husband.
“The entire trauma I went through six years ago, I don’t want to go through it again,” Ms Collins said.
What made it worse, she said, was the solution was simple.
“If council kept up the maintenance regularly, it wouldn’t be so bad to clean,” Ms Collins said.
Cardinia Shire Council’s operations co-ordinator Mark Howard said the council was aware of drainage concerns along Railway Avenue and confirmed maintenance works had been identified on sections of this drain.
“Regular maintenance is done on the drains in Tynong as required. These works include de-silting and vegetation removal,” Mr Howard said.
“Initial maintenance on the drain that the resident is concerned about happened on 13 June 2017.
“These works were in preparation for other works required and to alleviate the concerns raised by the resident.”
He said the council had kept Ms Collins updated on the works planned for these drains, which had been unfortunately delayed “due to us gaining the necessary approvals from the railway authority to work on the drain located under the railway lines”.
“An accredited contractor has been engaged and will start work once the approval is received. We expect these works will start in October,” Mr Howard said.
However he noted that weather conditions may impact the start date of the project.
He said the council was responsible for the maintenance of approximately 3000 kilometres of drains.
“Drainage concerns are taken seriously and we encourage residents to contact us on 1300 787 624, visit www.cardinia.vic.gov.au or email mail@cardinia.vic.gov.au to report any issues,” Mr Howard said.
