Floods fallout fury in McKinnon
Moorabbin Leader: 16 Feb 11 @ 07:00am by Jessica Bennett
OUTRAGED residents in McKinnon and Ormond have slammed Glen Eira Council’s reaction to flash flooding that has left them homeless and facing a mammoth clean-up.
More than 40 homes were extensively damaged and the streets Station Ave, Murray Rd, Cadby Ave and Wheeler St resembled a war zone when flash flooding hit on February 4.
Twenty-five residents attended a heated meeting with Glen Eira Council last Thursday.
Some were reduced to tears over the extent of their homes’ damage.
“There are fences down, couches and mattresses on the street and rubbish strewn every where,” Cadby Ave resident Fran Harkin said.
Ms Harkin and her husband, Tim, had spent six months renovating their home and were due to move in the day after more than 100m of rain hit the area.
“In the street the water was up to our chests and cars were floating away, ” Mr Harkin said.
“Our house will be uninhabitable for another six months … the damage will be about $150,000-$200,000.”
Residents at the meeting slammed the council’s reaction to the flooding, claiming it was too slow and not co-ordinated.
“No one from council came to see us until Thursday,” Ms Harkin said. “They did not recognise this as an emergency and failed to respond in time.”
Resident Chris Spencer slammed the council’s maintenance of stormwater drains, which he said exacerbated the flooding.
But council engineer Peter Waite said two of the drains were operated by Melbourne Water, which had refused to pay for upgrades.
Mayor Margaret Esakoff admitted the council had not adequately responded to the floods.
“We have relied on a chain of reporting … that feeds down to us and the communication has failed somewhere,” she said.
“We understand this is a devastating time and we will do everything we can to meet the needs of the people whose lives have been turned upside down.”
Glen Eira Debates 
February 16, 2011 at 11:07 AM
Do I detect a change in tack – actually admitting that council stuffed up? This doesn’t explain Waite however. McKinnon is largely on a flood plain. So, how many drains are we talking apart from the 2 Melbourne Water ones? When the spin tells us that there are enough drains to reach Mildura and only a meagre few kms are cleaned and cleared each year, then it’s no bloody surprise that there are floods. As for coughing up and expending more on such endeavours – well, this is infrastructure ain’t it, and with 40million for GESAC, no way will council pay for extra cleaning. Besides, what can compete with the visual splendour of a ‘world class facility’ compared to a few dozen underground drains that no-one gets to see. Doesn’t make for snappy photos six feet underground in the dark and stink. As with everything, this council is about appearance. Scratch the surface a little and the rot is revealed big time.
February 16, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Cr Esakoff obviously doesn’t get it. How did she ever get to be Mayor?
When she says ““We have relied on a chain of reporting … that feeds down to us and the communication has failed somewhere” – it seems that she is apologising for information not getting to councillors, as if they would have personally responded to the flooding. What would she have done? Run around with a bucket?
The issue is about maintenance and building infrastructure. And it’s not a new problem. My recollection is that the previous (sacked) council had begun to address drainage issues in flood prone areas, but I have heard little from this council.
March 8, 2011 at 3:56 PM
I am not a drainage expert… it is not my job as I like floods but the Glen Eira Council is spending good ratepayer money on my behalf by paying large mechanical street sweepers to clean the gutters when whole streets are parked out. It is very good for me in the gutter as it never dries out and my friends the mosquitoes are revelling in the decomposing leaves so when we all eventually reach a drain there is plenty for me to eat. Maybe a real person with a broom would shatter my existence in the gutters as he/she could perhaps sweep under all the cars. This person may be a little more expensive to ratepayers but he/she could only do a better job! Also if council wishes to be the enemy of me and the mosquitoes who live and breed in my damp gutters then it should take measures to ban the use of the street surface as the repositary for the leaves and grass clippings. They all settle in my drains and decompose into soil and reduce the capacity of the drains for me to swim in. Sometimes I even end up surfacing again when it rains a lot and I never know where I am.