Raining, draining

MANY residents in the City of Casey are worried drainage problems and heavy rain will lead to a repeat of the February floods.
Edrington Ward Councillor Simon Curtis lodged two separate petitions from people concerned about their stormwater drains.
Cr Curtis said hundreds of people were affected by the floods and said the council needed to ensure they worked closely with residents and put pressure on Melbourne Water so the problem was addressed.
“The main concern is about the stormwater drains not being adequate for the amount of water coming through,” Cr Curtis said.
“This is consistent for the entire municipality.”
Cr Curtis said he expected there to be much more rainfall in the future.
“It will be interesting to see what effect climate change has on Casey. The water levels are tipped to rise by a metre and a half,” he said.
City of Casey Manager of Engineering David Richardson said the drainage problems highlighted were within the local catchments and were Casey Council’s responsibility to initially investigate.
“Council’s drainage system is integrated with Melbourne Water’s main drainage system and downstream restrictions can have impacts higher up in the catchment,” he said.
“In accordance with the council’s resolution, the council officers would investigate the matters raised in the petition and develop any feasible mitigation measures for consideration in future works programming.”