Letters: Parkes residents react to January 2's storm supercell

Parkes Council does an overall good job but at times their departments seem to be on another planet.

Take that awful hailstorm for example. On a Sunday they had a street sweeper picking up leaves on a roadway for hours. No doubt at double time.

Who cares about leaves on a roadway? They are not a hazard.

If you gave it a few days they would dry out and blow away for free!

Yet they deny any responsibility for the upkeep of alleyways which are pot-holed, overgrown and in general disrepair.

It's quite mischievous for council to say "they are not our property". Well they certainly aren't ratepayers property!

If it's crown land then council has a duty of care to maintain them instead of letting them rot away.

I will vote for any new council that embarks on a project to rehabilitate what are the lungs of Parkes and try and reduce rates without compromising service.

Dear Editor

We notice that Pioneer Oval once again catches a lot of water which then flows into Alexandra Street, which cannot handle the flow. It then floods into the back yards of the properties facing Albert Street but backing onto Alexandra Street, flooding yards and outdoor rooms.

Why do the council make such a fuss of new developments having storm water retention provision, but they do nothing to retain and control flooding from their parks and gardens, leaving ratepayers with a massive clean-up bill after heavy rain?

Dear Editor

I would just like to comment on Mayor Keith's comment that Saturday's (January 2) storm was a one-in-a-hundred-year event.

I have occupied a shop in Clarinda Street for three years and my shop has been flooded on three occasions, and twice in the previous two years.

I was also born and raised in Parkes and I don't ever remember Clarinda Street flooding.

Bogan Street always did but not Clarinda Street.

There's plenty of opinion going around about the causes, eg. the roundabouts, the road is too high, the gutters too small, inadequate drainage.

Whatever the reason I hope some of the government assistance you are applying for goes towards fixing the problem with upper Clarinda Street.

Thumbs down to the Parkes Shire Council for the pool not being open over the Christmas break. I watched many people come and go.

What does this signal for our town when due to Covid, not to travel too far with residents and visitors unable to use this facility?

The following are comments posted on the Parkes Champion Post's Facebook page after January 2's storm supercell.

This diatribe of informing the public of a once-in-100-year flooding is wearing thin. Stop throwing the blame council and spend money where it's needed, and not on bright, shiny projects for a once-a-year festival.

This town needs to look more into future proofing infrastructure for the growth we are constantly being informed of with the Special Activation Precinct. All the 3D mapping that was carried out recently should and can be utilised to shed most of the water away before hitting the centre of town.

The drainage at the end of Bogan Street has to be looked at so we don't have the flood water problem. This water problem is not the news events this town wants or needs on the media channels.

I implore the community to start pushing for drainage plans to be actioned ASAP by the council so these issues can be remedied and stop costing the commercial centre of Parkes lost revenue in damages.

How about thinking about the people living up the head of that drain that gets flooded at the drop of hat?

Yes we knew about the water but as the years go by the drain gets more overgrowth. When I first moved to Butlers Lane, the the water used to disperse quickly, had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes. Now it takes about one hour. Keep the drain clean, less water.

Funny how these extreme "once in a century" type weather events seem to be happening more and more often. Almost like there is some sort of human-caused climate change happening.

But nope the Federal Member for Parkes and leader of the National Party Michael McCormack says it's bunk - so clearly you guys should all keep voting Nats over politicians that actually listen to science.

A one-in-100-year storm refers to rainfall totals that have a one per cent probability of occurring at that location in that year. In other words, there is a one in 100 or one per cent chance that a storm will reach this intensity in any given year.

Likewise, a 50-year rainfall event has a one in 50 or two per cent chance of occurring in a year.

Maybe finish off the curb and guttering [in our street] as well add a few more storm drains, we have two in the whole street, as well to help take the water from my front door.

Maybe put gutters on the sheds at the museum and a catchment for the water so it doesn't run down hill into my door.

Once-in-a-century event, funny that last January the same thing - thousands of dollars worth of damage. It cost my insurance company and again this time.

Funny I went to council last year and spoke with them, they said they will look into it, what a joke. Our street is like a river every time we get heavy rain and they don't do anything.

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