Drain bane

Heading: “News in brief… Sudden downpour.” This article appeared on page 9 of the March edition of the Lizard News. The article gave details of the urgent severe Weather Warning which was issued by the Met Service and Civil Defence for the BoP on 15th February 2021.

The final paragraph read: “Residents are reminded to keep clearing drains, sumps and stormwater grills of debris including roadside drains outside their property.”

It is my understanding that the Western Bay District Council and their contractors are solely responsible for the maintenance of the stormwater drains on the roadsides of our communities, not the residents.

From my personal experience, the Council have not been doing maintenance often enough of the stormwater drains as shown in photos of two randomly selected drains, one in Kayelene Place which has been in this state for some time, and the other in Margaret Drive.

The reality is that a large number of the grills above the drains in the streets of Ōmokoroa are clogged up with silt, gravel, grass, leaves, and rubbish some of which ends up either blocking the drain raising the risk of flooding, or being washed into the creeks and or the harbour.

Residents pay a stormwater charge levy of $405.07 p.a. and an environmental protection levy of $41.11 p.a. in their rates which includes funding to maintain the existing stormwater infrastructure and protect the environment.

I would suggest that residents in Ōmokoroa bring any clogged up drains they may see in our streets to the Council’s attention.

Kevin Goddard, Ōmokoroa.