Tamworth Regional Council has confirmed it will investigate whether flooding in a Manilla neighbourhood during a December thunderstorm was caused by poor drainage.
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Worooma Crescent homeowner Jodi North told the Leader the storm on December 21 had flooded her entire house.
"I was actually in Newcastle at the time that it happened. I had no idea my house had flooded. But the time I got home Wednesday morning, my house had sat with water through it for three days," she told the Leader.
Ms North, who has lived in the area for 11 years, said the neighbourhood had never flooded as severely before, even after heavier rain.
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She claims Tamworth council have not improved drainage after construction of a new housing estate in the area, which had increased runoff and changed the local hydrology.
Her property was one of four that flooded in December, despite the construction of a new strip drain on the property.
But it's the second time Ms North's home has been inundated in a year. She was washed out in February, just four weeks after she completed renovations.
Together the two floods cost her $40,000, she said.
The Kanangra Road home of neighbour Mark Thompson was saved from flooding with the aid of SES volunteers, who helped sandbag it.
He wrote to council in March on behalf of a number of locals, asking for council staff to improve drainage in the area.
When he spoke with the Leader on Tuesday, he was still waiting for any sign of action, nine months on.
"I feel it's the council's responsibility. They have the power to go and see why the water's coming in a place where it's never come before and see if there's a problem," he said.
"If you're doing something wrong on your property, a building or something like that, the council will be onto you like a shot.
"All I need from council is for someone to show the courtesy and decency to come and have a look. We can discuss and see where the problem is, but they won't even do that. And I think it's a problem that could be fixed quite easily."
After inquiries from media on Wednesday, a council spokesperson said in a statement that it had "started investigating" Mr Thompson's concerns.
"It appears the source of the water impacting the resident's property is an adjacent natural creek which is experiencing increased volumes of water due to the above average rainfall received in the area in recent weeks," the spokesperson said.
"Council staff plan to meet with the property owner on site and provide some advice on measures which may help reduce the impact of above average creek flows in the future."
Locals claim the problem isn't unique to the Worooma Crescent and Kanangra Road areas. Much of Manilla faces drainage issues during heavy thunderstorms, Ms North said.
The entire town's storm water system needs an upgrade, she said.
The small town received as much as 110mm of rain in the December thunderstorm.
Andrew Messenger
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
