by Cam Lucadou-Wells
Willow Lodge retirement village residents are anxiously watching floodwaters rise under their homes at Bangholme this afternoon (16 July).
At least six homes, elevated off the ground, were standing in floodwater, a worried resident told Star Journal. Further homes had water in their backyards.
A neighbour’s air-conditioning unit and a motor under another resident’s home had been damaged as a result.
The village of more than 500 residents is on the banks of Eumemmerring Creek is surrounded by flood-protection levees and downstream from a Melbourne Water retarding basin.
The resident says the floodwaters escaped an adjoining retention pond.
“The creek is right up around us,” she said.
“The retention pond is rising and the pumps are working overtime but are not keeping up.”
She says a similar situation occurred during extensive flooding in 2011, in which the village was “surrounded by water”.
This afternoon, it appeared that a floodgate was causing backflow issues. The Star Journal is awaiting confirmation as to which authority is responsible for the floodgate.
An SES unit was reportedly called to the scene.
That morning, a Watch and Act emergency message was issued for a rising Dandenong Creek this morning (16 July), with affected residents advised to move to higher ground.
Moderate flooding was expected to occur on the creek at Police Road Retarding Basin in Rowville and potentially Heatherton Road in Dandenong, according to a SES Victoria ‘Watch And Act’ message.
At the Police Road retarding basin, Dandenong Creek’s waters were 4.95 metres deep as of 9am – and expected to rise above the moderate flood level of 5 metres later this morning.
Heatherton Road between Stud Road and Monash Freeway has been closed in both directions due to flooding, according to the Department of Transport website.
The SES warned of potentially “substantial inundation” in rural and urban areas in the Dandenong Creek catchment.
“Flooding above floor level of a single-story home is likely to occur in some locations,” it stated.
Affected people were advised to “take actions immediately to protect your life and property, and move to higher ground”.
Details: emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/warning/33819/moreinfo
– It comes a week after a Greater Dandenong councillor requested more information on a proposed rezoning of a nearby parcel of farmland at 250 Fernside Drive into industrial land.
At a 8 July council meeting, Cr Rhonda Garad said the site is within the “Bangholme retarding basin” – a “critical” flood mitigation measure to protect residents at Willow Lodge retirement village as well as suburbs downstream.
According to a council report, Melbourne Water has stated it doesn’t have any objection to the rezoning on the basis of flood risk, “subject to conditions”.
