By Emma Sun
A MOUNT Evelyn home that was almost washed out by floodwaters caused by excessive rain 10 months ago was hit again last Monday, despite the council installing a drain to alleviate the problem.
Mary and Darren, who did not want their surname published, live at the bottom of York Road near a bend and are appealing for Yarra Ranges Council to do something about the river that flows to their property when rains hit.
Following a Mail article about the issue in May last year, the council upgraded a drain near IGA.
However, the heavy rains last Monday caused the waters to flow down York Road and into their property once again, going down the couple’s driveway and through to the backyard.
“Because there’s no regular maintenance, the drain they put in filled up and the three drains we put in that run through the back of our property also filled up,” Mary said.
“We had our own river coming down – our backyard was like a swimming pool.
“Our shed, which was filled with Darren’s power tools, was flooded and he wants compensation.”
The damage is estimated at about $1800, which Mary said does not include the damage that was done to their property.
“The approximate cost of repairing the driveway and property this time round is about $4000 but it has cost us thousands over the years to try and keep their water from destroying our land.”
Mary said they have had more than their fair share of headaches and want the council to do something to help.
“We have spent 14 years putting up with the shire using our property as water run off point.
“We’re getting really frustrated and the council should stop using our property as their stormwater drain,” she said.
“The council needs to maintain the dirt road with all the pine trees and pine needles and they need to increase the drainage,” she said.
“We’ve done our part – we’ve bricked the driveway at great expense and we’ve had to add dirt to our land because so much has been washed away over time,” she said.
“We just want the shire to do something about the water.”
Yarra Ranges Council’s director environment and engineering Mark Varmalis said the council will work to fix the problem.
“The drainage issues are the result of heavy rainfall after a long spell of very hot and dry conditions,” he said.
“Council has been in contact with the resident and is working with them to resolve the drainage issues on their property.”
