18:21 Mayor Wilkie: Next up, we have Noosa Glade's speakers, Anne Budd, Ross Ward and Jennifer Finlay. We have 15 minutes set aside for questions and answers.
18:35 Ross Ward: Thank you.
18:39 Good morning, Mr Mayor, Councillors and Council staff. I am Ross Ward, Disposer for Noosa Glade's, representing the Noosa Glade's community complex. There are 78 rate paying residences, providing approximately $125,000 per year revenue to the Council. We maintain our housing prices. We have our own roads, drain pipes, street lining, et cetera. We all have a problem with the waterway that runs through our property, which should be eventually going into Noosa River. This waterway banks up, causing flooding in parts of the Glades after a normal rain event. Around 15 years ago, Noosa Council put in a concrete culvert in the open waterway through the Glades. This really hasn't made any difference, as the culvert runs down to the river and gets blocked. It's full of slime, waterweeds, and bulrushes, et cetera. This waterway always had its problems, even before a previous Council gave developers of Eagle Rise subdivision permission to divert their stormwater runoff into this waterway. Our Noosa Glade's committee, along with management of the Marindal Street Caravan Park at the time, protested Noosa Council, and we all met with Council staff, and we were informed Eagle Rise stormwater runoff would not affect Noosa Glades or make any difference.
20:03 Residents feel this has exaggerated the problem, causing water to bank up the waterway and back up into our drain pipes, causing flooding to properties. Flood insurance is a cost residents cannot afford. Most insurance companies will not insure homes here for flood. One quote recently was $8,000 a year. The major problem is that the waterway between the Glades and Noosa River is blocked by fallen trees, overgrown vegetation, and unauthorised earthworks, blocking water flow and lack of maintenance has caused unnecessary flooding. Our residents are well aware we live in a flood zone area. However, we now have a bigger worry due to Eagle Rise runoff being directed into the easement, plus the blockages between us and the river.
20:59 The water does not flow away and has created a swamp. We, the residents, strongly believe the Council has a duty of care to fix the problem before any more rain events occur. Noosa Glades residents have an understanding there are more drains from Tate Street and Cambridge court that funnel stormwater in this waterway. This impacts and affects us also. Noosa Glades residents have an understanding there are more drains from Tate Street and Cambridge court that funnel stormwater in this waterway. As the water is unable to get away to the river it then flows back down towards Marindal Street, flooding the area known as Duke Street, which then floods the backs of houses in the Glades. Independent water tests indicate a high level of eukaryote in the waterway slash swamp. Given these test results naturally, residents are concerned about health and safety aspects. Mosquitoes, sandflies, water rats, snakes, cane toads and whatever else are considered dangerous, all coming from the swamp slash waterway. Residents have complained that mosquitoes are at 4pm in the afternoon when they sit in the Marindal decks and this is in winter, the month of June. Over the years we have written and voiced our concerns to Council about this situation, but nothing has been done for our Noosa Glades community.
22:15 Residents have become sad, disheartened and frustrated from the lack of results and in actions from our previous correspondence to the Council.
22:25 It took immediate exposure for us to get where we are now. The problem has been allowed to deteriorate by a lack of proper maintenance to the drains slash waterway over the years and has now become a major problem and needs immediate attention before some or all of our homes get flood damaged. We have some photos and test results available for your files. We are appealing to you, the Noosa Council, for action. You have been asked to submit your applications to the council to be taken as soon as possible. Could we assume that an allocation has been made in this year's budget to rectify the problem? And would it be possible for Council to give a timeframe for works to be done? We appreciate your time, Mr Council, and thank you for listening to the residents of the Glades. Thank you, Mr Ward.
23:12 Mayor Wilkie: I understand there's been three meetings. There'll be more. Then I'll sort this one out. Thank you.