Council fights for creek funding to protect residents

Published on 01 June 2015

Many residents of North Rockhampton, Bouldercombe and Gracemere are watching the weather more closely these days after their homes flooded during TC Marcia when the creeks filled with rubble and debris.

The idyllic creek side lifestyle has becoming a burgeoning nightmare for some residents with the trail of debris posing as a threat should another severe weather event occur.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow says many of the creeks are a 'no man's land' when it comes to responsibility to clean them out, with a large proportion of the area classed as Unallocated State Land.

Boundaries aside, Rockhampton Regional Council stepped in and completed $1 million worth of urgent work with permission of the State Government just days after the cyclone.

Recently, the State Government contributed $1 million towards clearing and reinstating the creeks, but Mayor Strelow says the funding is still the tip of the iceberg.

Council lodged an application for $7.5 million in Category D funding to complete the works.  

"Category D funding is primarily to help councils deal with issues leftover after a disaster - to reinstate and make good, giving peace of mind to nearby home owners,” Mayor Strelow said.

"If we receive this funding we would see the work finished which includes replanting and stabilising the banks.

“Essentially, it would restore this natural asset to the way it should be,” she said.  

The detailed application is over one hundred pages and outlines the extent of devastation with residential damage and aerial photographs used as evidence to support the funding request.