Long-awaited fix down the drain

A POTENTIAL reprieve to a 13year-long controversial drainage issue in South Ayr has been knocked back by the Burdekin Shire Council, with a lack of consultation over the solution blamed.

A low flow drainage designed to provide residents in South Ayr including Craig and Woods streets with a solution to Q1-5 level floods was voted down in Tuesday’s council meeting with multiple councillors calling for more consultation over the issue.

Four drainage routes were put forward to the council, ranging in costs of construction from $150,000 to more than $500,000 as well as a recommendation to acquire the land needed for it and to close two road reserves and open an additional reserve. Council director for infrastructure, planning and environmental services Nick Wellwood said he was asked to review the issue in 2018 after a potential drainage route was disputed in a 2015 council meeting.

“This drainage issue for the low flow has been going on for some 13 years, so it’s a very long-standing issue and it is something, from the officers’ perspective, we have done an enormous amount of work analysing to solve what is the low flow events,” Mr Wellwood said.

He said a new drainage route running parallel to Craig and Albert streets was recommended by officers as the most economic solution and could be constructed for about $150,000.

“The next cheapest option would be around $400,000 and upwards,” Mr Wellwood said. “These are about solving those annualise and lower flood events, the Q1-5.

“A Q200 to a Q300 event, like we had in January, it doesn’t matter what you do there is going to be water in that area because, as we have shown, it’s a flood area.”

Mr Wellwood said the recommendation put forth at Tuesday’s council meeting was the same as what was presented five years ago.

However an alternative drainage route travelling along Craig St and right on to another road reserve was said to be the preferred route by the 2015 council, against council officers’ recommendations.

Mr Wellwood said while the alternative drainage solutions were more expensive they “do not provide a better solution”.

Councillor Max Musumeci told the meeting he would have preferred further workshop discussions on the matter with more information only shared with council in the last “several days”.

Mayor Lyn Mclaughlin said the council had already held a number of workshop discussions over the matter.

The recommendation was voted down by all councillors except Cr Mclaughlin with chief executive Terry Brennan noting the closure and opening of road reserves would still take place after the council voted in favour of that.

“So we will go ahead with that road closure but we won’t take any further steps in relation to drainage improvements,” Mr Brennan said.