Beaudesert CBD business owners say drainage improvements can’t come soon enough after enduring another flood on Brisbane Street.
All it took was a short storm on 28 November for water to rise across the footpath up to shop doors at the intersection of Brisbane Street and William Street.
Mortified business owners, whose shopfronts were inundated in a storm this time last year and who have seen Brisbane Street flood many times, were grateful to Jeremy Todd from Heit’s Quality Meats who unclogged the drains by hand.
“He’s a legend, I can’t believe he does that every time there’s a heavy shower, so it doesn’t flood the businesses in town,” said Beaudesert Bulletin Editor Keer Moriarty, who was in the office when the storm hit.
“As soon as it was getting really heavy, he was straight out there. It was bucketing down, water like tidal waves coming from the cars and he was pulling everything out of the drain. He does that every time. It’d be nice if Council would fix the drainage, wouldn’t it?”
Chris Grimmett from Kalico Country said it was anxiety-provoking.
“My shop would have got flooded if I hadn’t been here, I think, and that was only a mild storm. It’s just that I was here and could put barricades up and mats down on the inside. The water came right to the door,” she said.
“It’s scary because you leave the shop, you close up and it can come right in again. I’m used to it by now, but I really wish I didn’t have to be.”
She hopes Council’s planned drainage works will fix the problem, but she dreads another storm season of flooding uncertainty.
A Council spokesperson told the Bulletin its planned drainage improvements were still on track to be completed by the end of the 2022-2023 financial year.
“Due to site conditions and ongoing wet weather delays affecting works for the Selwyn Street Extension and CBD car parking (which, from a construction staging aspect are required to be completed prior to the Town Centre Drainage works commencing), no drainage improvements have been able to be started, however, Council is currently in the early stages of construction materials procurement,” they said.
“The drainage upgrade component as part of this project, which includes additional sub-surface drainage culverts being extended down Short Street, with outlets to the west of Helen Street and into Spring Creek, are planned to be completed during the 2022 – 2033 financial year, pending any further site and weather delays.”
