It has been difficult to look outside in recent weeks and believe the calendar could be right.
How can we still be getting so much rain when we are so close to summer?
There have been many areas across Victoria that have been hit harder than we have here in our region, but the flooding we have experienced since last month is still causing great distress to thousands of people.
This is having an ongoing impact on so many areas of our lives including travel and exercise, but my thoughts go particularly to those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected.
The team at the City of Greater Geelong have been working closely with authorities to respond as quickly as possible to the impacts of flooding across the region, which has been increasingly difficult given the persistent rainfall.
Our City Works team prepared for the first major rain event on 13 October, by inspecting and cleaning out 531 stormwater pits and pipes.
Since that flooding event, the team has repaired more than 1200 potholes and carried out major repairs on multiple severely damaged unsealed roads.
There have been 14 unsealed roads washed away and requiring complete rebuilds, mostly in the Lara, Little River and Anakie areas.
These have been our priority, but unfortunately after further heavy rain, many now have to be rebuilt for a second time.
As well as responding to community requests for pothole repairs, the team has also proactively searched for and fixed as many potholes as possible.
But despite the hard work of the City’s staff and contractors, the size of the repair task remains enormous.
There are still about 300 outstanding pothole repairs and 500 drainage jobs of varying complexity, and while the team will get to all of these jobs, which are being prioritised based on community safety, it is going to take time.
The City has also temporarily suspended its Road Management Plan to prioritise the repair of flood-damaged roads, footpaths and shared paths.
This plan sets the standards for inspection, maintenance and repair of sealed and unsealed roads, footpaths, shared paths, kerb and channel, bridges, waterway channels and traffic control devices.
Given the breadth of damage and the diversion of resources, the Road Management Plan will be suspended for three months.
The La Nina weather system that has broken rainfall records across much of Victoria and NSW has also made it difficult to access and maintain grass and other vegetation across Greater Geelong.
This can be frustrating, and I empathise with the weariness that some people are experiencing.
I want to thank residents for their patience and understanding as the City team continues to do all it can to clean up the mess that has been made by these floods, and I share the hopes of the community that this will soon be over so that we can begin to enjoy summer in the way we have for so long.
