Terrigal residents have been fighting to secure regular maintenance of a watercourse running beside a public reserve which they say is a health hazard for more than two decades.
Neil Keele said the watercourse, which runs beside a reserve between Canterbury Close and Norwich Close, has been “maintained” only twice since he moved to the area in 1997.
“The Norwich Close side has been maintained by persons on community service orders for a period of time but it is now residents who maintain it,” he said.
“The Canterbury Close side – where properties back onto the reserve – was looked after in parts by residents.
“One resident had a ride-on mower and it was great until the mower broke down and was not replaced.
“Some residents now try to maintain the sides of the watercourse but it stinks, is a health hazard and could be a flood and fire risk in the right conditions.”
Keele said some residents had tried to do something about the watercourse from Sheffield Dr to the fence of a nearby mobile home village but the task had proved too daunting.
“There is an oily coating on the water and the water is stagnant in parts,” he said.
“The rushes are about two metres tall and non-native trees and other non-indigenous plants have grown up.
“The amount of litter is also considerable.”
Keele said the watercourse channel is lined with a border which is now overgrown in parts and the watercourse itself is full of sediment and other materials almost to the top of the channel and also about 30cm out into it.
“Many neighbours have asked central Coast Council to clear the watercourse many times to no avail,” he said.
“Potentially there are rats and other vermin, as well as native fauna struggling to compete with the state of the watercourse.”
Keele said residents would like to see a reasonable flow restored and action on the stench and the oil coating on the water.
“In times of heavy rain the water level now comes up at least a metre higher than it used to and gets closer to the fences on the Canterbury Close side,” he said.
“A number of the residents on the Canterbury Close side are aged 70-90 and are pensioners.”
Keele said the reserve also has trees which are overshadowing properties, but Council maintains it is the responsibility of residents backing on to the reserve to deal with them.
“The rates paid by the Canterbury Close landholders are considerable and yet we get nothing done – it is not a priority,” he said.
A Council spokesperson said the site is on Council’s Urban Channel’s maintenance program.
“Council monitors 22 identified Urban Channels across the Local Government Area where specific works are prioritised to maintain effective flow and mitigate flood risk,” the spokesperson said.
“As the works undertaken at these locations are of a significant nature, typically only a few sites may be serviced in any given year, and cleaning frequency may typically occur at 5-10-year intervals.
“Council staff will, however, now inspect this particular location, prior to determining the final list of priority sites for maintenance, which is expected to occur later in the 2023/24 financial year.”
The spokesperson said Council staff attended the site on July 23 to remove litter and would revisit it to check priority weeds that may be present.
“However Council does not provide a level of service for the management of vermin, nor will Council undertake the removal or pruning of trees due to overshadowing concerns,” the spokesperson said.
“The site is also not identified on Bush Fire Prone Lands mapping and is not actively maintained as a Bush Fire Asset Protection Zone or for aesthetic or recreational purposes, so as such no works are proposed to address bush fire concerns.
“Council will inspect the slicks referred to, however advises that the slick is a natural slick from iron reducing bacteria which forms in water bodies like this and is not a result of other pollution ingress.
“Regarding the reported odour issue, odours emanating from waterways like this are not uncommon and may arise from sulphidic sediments or anerobic decomposition of organic matter.”
Terry Collins