Man left drained

By Lia Bichel
AN Endeavour Hills man fears a storm ater drain near his property will create a flood of problems in the future if the Casey Council does not accept ownership of it.
Steve Hastings said the drain on the nature strip of his Brandon Court property was blocked during the floods in February, causing water to spill into his house.
While his insurance would cover the costs of damaged property, Mr Hastings said he wanted the council to accept responsibility and maintain the drain to avoid any similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Mr Hastings said Casey Council originally accepted responsibility for the drain after the floods occurred, but denied ownership when he tried to put in an expense claim.
“After the floods, I called the Casey Council to unblock it. They said they were too busy to fix it and to call a plumber and then put in a private claim to the council. That was fine with me, but the plumber confirmed that the blockage was not on my property and therefore could not fix it because it was on council property,” he said.
Mr Hastings said the Casey Council sent a works crew to clear the drain, but he still sent the council a claim of $350 to cover the cost of the plumber.
Instead of receiving the money, Mr Hastings received a letter from Echelon Claims Services, on behalf of Casey, who said Mr Hastings was responsible for the drain and Casey Council were not.
“The council is trying to say they own the nature strip and the trees, but the drain is a different matter,” Mr Hastings said. “I am not worried about the money any more. I am worried about what will happen if the drain gets blocked in the future. I have lived in the area for 25 years and every time there’s a problem with the footpath and trees near my nature strip I call the council. How come I can’t call them for this? The council need to accept responsibility for the drain or the flooding could happen again.”
The City of Casey Council said property owners were responsible for the stormwater connection between their property boundary and the stormwater drains managed and maintained by council.
City of Casey manager of roads and construction Robert Kriek said the council was only responsible for the actual connection point provided in the kerb and channel.“Council maintains its stormwater drains in accordance with its road management plan. Drainage pits and associated underground drains are inspected annually and cleaned as required,” Mr Kriek said,
City of Casey acting manager administration Glenda McMillan said the City of Casey was obliged to ensure that compensation was only paid in circumstances where the council was the responsible authority and where it was proven to be legally liable.