ABOVE: Greg Cole stands outside his home in Walker St, Casino.
Susanna Freymark
Every time there is heavy rain, Greg Cole’s house in Walker St, Casino is threatened with flooding.
He can’t get in and out of his driveway because of the water and has to take the day off work to lift lawnmowers, gardening equipment and tools off the ground in the shed.
This has happened six times in five years.
Greg said he has sent more than 13 emails over many years to Richmond Valley Council asking for something to be done.
And Greg isn’t talking about the big flood in February – nothing could be done about that.
But on October 17 Greg reckons the rain came so fast, his house and the two houses beside his were flooded.
“It took a few hours to drain,” Greg said.
He’d like to see the council put in larger drains for a start.
There are drains out the front of his house but when the rain is intense, the water rises quickly.
There are other streets in Casino that have the similar issues.
Greg’s house is on the low side of the street so the rainwater naturally flows towards his house and his neighbours.
He’s fed up dealing with the threat of flooding every time it rains.
The BoM reported a rainfall of 16.4mm on October 17 and almost a week later on October 23, 33mm of rain was reported from the Casino rain gauge.
Council general manager Vaughan Macdonald said he personally inspected a number of the drains in the area about two weeks ago.
“They are not blocked,” he said.
“The drains only have a certain capacity and then they are full.
“No urban drainage system can handle a storm with 50mm in half an hour.
“The water is gone soon after the rain stops – which wouldn’t happen if they were blocked.”
Mr Macdonald said drains are designed for a one in three year event.
“No drain system can handle that much water that quickly,” he said.
