Keep mud tanks clear and we should be fine
THE people of South Dunedin should not be unnecessarily alarmed by the comments made by Mayor Dave Cull on The South Today (4.10.19), when he said, ‘‘If we get intense rainfall events and high groundwater, we are going to have problems’’.
He further said ‘‘blocked mud tanks did not contribute to the 2015 flood’’.
This shows a lack of understanding of the system. Mud tanks are the mouths of the stormwater drainage reticulation, and if they are blocked, they cannot collect the surface water they are designed for, so the water cannot get to the pumps.
It should be remembered there was a heavier rainfall in 1968 with a minor problem in a new system, soon rectified.
Provided the council ensures future maintenance of the system and correct operations of the pumps both at Portobello Rd and at the Musselburgh pumping station, this disaster should not recur, and South Dunedin should be safe unless global warming makes severe changes in weather patterns.
There is one thing residents can do for their own benefit. Apart from blocking with silt below the gratings, mud tanks can also have their gratings blocked with leaves and so on, which is difficult for council contractors to cope with.
If you have a mud tank in the street outside your property, keep an eye on it in heavy rain, and if it needs clearing, put on your gumboots and rake it clear. Bruce Hendry Macandrew Bay
[Abridged]
Murder mystery
THE account in the ODT (28.9.19) of the unsolved Moa Creek murder of William McIntosh on September 28, 1949, rekindled my own personal memories.
The very night the newspaper was preparing its account of the murder was my very first night in my employment as a copyholder in the reading room and the start of a long journalistic career.
The reporter who was first on the scene, riding a motorcycle, was Brian Scanlan, who after long stints at the ODT and Christchurch StarSun, later became a Roman Catholic priest. Clarke Isaacs
Sunshine
High praise
WE wish to thank the wonderful team of ODT photographers for great photos of landscapes and flowers and so on over many seasons and years.
We especially like Gerard O’Brien’s weekly ‘‘Parallax’’ with its quirky and imaginative images. His astute eyes see what people walk past and never notice.
It would be great to have ‘‘Parallax’’ in book form with the same format as the excellent Ask a Chef Vol. 3.
Thank you, ODT, for the best newspaper in New Zealand.
Carole and George Evans
Mosgiel
Reunion
Retired Registered Nurses: The annual lunch will be on Friday, November 1, at Otago Golf Club, Balmacewen Rd.
Registration and details: email regnselunch@xtra.co.nz, text 0275544705 or phone Joan 4544705. .....................................
BIBLE READING: Their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. — Esther 9.22.