Geelong council orders $27,000 drainage works to divert stormwater flow on Clifton Springs property

A Clifton Springs resident has lashed Geelong council after being hit with a $27,000 bill to divert a stormwater flow on his property. TAKE OUR POLL

A Clifton Springs resident says Geelong council is not applying common sense to its drainage policy, leaving him with a $27,000 bill to pump water to replicate a drainage process that’s taken place on his land for three decades.

For 30 years, stormwater has flowed under Henk Mensinga’s fence at the rear of his property at Dederang Ave and into a land reservation for stormwater.

But now stormwater will have to be pumped to the front of the property next door, where Mr

Mensinga is building a house on a block he owns, under a council policy that requires stormwater to be discharged at the front kerb.

Hank Mensinga is unhappy about a council drainage policy that will leave him with a $27,000 bill.

“It’s absolute nonsense. You just have to apply common sense and discretion to policy,” a frustrated Mr Mensinga, whose block slopes to the rear, told the Addy.

“It’s a lot of money to achieve nothing. What happens when we have a one in 100 year storm and the pump can’t cope?”

Mr Mensinga said under council policy stormwater would be pumped to the front of his property, into a council drain under the street, down to another council drain about 30m away, then into the land reservation for stormwater which runs behind his land and about 20 other homes.

Geelong council did not respond when asked if stormwater discharged into the kerbside drain at Dederang Ave eventually flowed into the land reservation behind Mr Mensinga’s house.

In a letter to Mr Mensinga a council co-ordinator for infrastructure planning said: “The guiding principle behind this decision to control stormwater discharge (is) to allow the reserve and waterway at the rear of your property to regenerate. I do understand this will not occur through limiting your stormwater discharge alone, however over time as the community develops and further legal points of discharge are redirected we hope to see such areas re-establish themselves.”

The Clifton Springs property backs on to a reserve designated for stormwater.

Mr Mensinga’s $27,000 bill will include a 5000L tank, two pumps, a concrete discharge pit and electrical work for the pump.

He said he tried to reason with a council officer but the officer did not budge from policy.

In an email to Mr Mensinga in May, another council officer said: “The guiding principle behind this decision is for all new stormwater discharge connections to use city stormwater assets where available, rather than simply discharging onto land. Here kerb and channel is available and therefore it should be utilised. This principle applies to all of us across the

municipality and therefore we cannot be making exceptions in individual cases.”

In a statement, Geelong council city services director Guy Wilson-Browne said: “Our position is that all new stormwater discharge in urban areas should use our stormwater assets where available, rather than discharging straight onto land. This allows us to meet our duty to protect the environment by best managing pollutants, and the volume and velocity of water. While we acknowledge that other properties have historically discharged directly onto the public reserve, this is not best practice and is no longer supported.”

Originally published as Geelong council orders $27,000 drainage works to divert stormwater flow on Clifton Springs property