Buildup of debris in creek after downpour causes concern
A Richmond creek was backed up with debris following heavy rain yesterday morning, and is causing concern for some residents.
The blockage occurred at Reservoir Creek, as it flows through Easby Park and into an underground culvert, before reemerging further downstream.
Snow Place resident Maureen Schmidt, who lives in one of the houses beside the tunnel, said the river had been raised far above its normal level, as the catchers in front of the culvert were piled up with debris.
‘‘Over the summer that creek is normally just a trickle. I’ve been living here since 1999, and I’ve only ever seen the river up twice like that.’’
She said she had been woken by the heavy rain about 5am yesterday, and went to check the creek about 9am.
‘‘I was horrified that all that rubbish had come down – because there’s quite a lot of stuff [under the surface] that you can’t see.
‘‘When you go and fell pine trees way up the hill, that slash has got to go somewhere.’’
Schmidt said the big concern was if that the heavy rain continued throughout the week, there was a lot more slash in the hills which could wash down and block the creek further.
Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said contractors were on the scene later in the morning and cleared the culvert.
Choat said the debris had come from the hills above the Reservoir Creek catchment. ‘‘There was nothing specific about it to raise concerns.
‘‘While there was a small amount of localised flooding with the short duration downpours in some areas, once the system had a chance to catch up, the surface water drained away relatively quickly.’’