Flood safeguard ‘could be drain’ on Corio homes

Andrew Mathieson
HOUSEHOLDS in some of Geelong’s poorest suburbs might have to help council pay millions of dollars to safeguard Corio against flooding, a councillor has warned.
Andy Richards said he was “unsure” whether council would levy a user-pays charge on ratepayers to upgrade their ageing stormwater system.
He said the project was too big for council to fund alone.
The project would protect residents against the threat of a one-in-100-year flood, he said.
The Kosciusko Avenue main drain catchment services a 1000-hectare area including properties on Hendy Street and Plantation Road to as far as Lovely Banks and parts of Lara.
Cr Richards, who holds council’s infrastructure portfolio, said council wanted to “fix it as soon as possible”.
“The drain is almost 50 years old and has limited underground drainage capacity and minimal overland flow paths,” he said.
The trunk main drain passes through the south-west corner of Corio’s Shell refinery site before an open channel outfall at Corio Bay.
Council had investigated a range of potential flood mitigation options as part of the study.
Cr Richards said the preferred option involved swelling a Plantation Road retarding basin to maximise storage while building a new outlet and twin pipe drains back to the basin.
Council expected the project bill to run into the millions of dollars.
Cr Richard said City Hall was seeking further comment on its draft report into upgrading the drainage system, with the public exhibition period closing on Monday.
He suggested the “new Liberal State Government” could help pay for the works.
“This is such a large piece of infrastructure that I really think the Government should get on board and help fund it.”
Council recently backed away from forcing Drysdale residents to pay for drainage works unless they sold or developed their properties.