Despite Hepburn Shire Council's ongoing plans to bolster recovery after January's severe thunderstorms left many locals homeless, Creswick residents are still feeling dissatisfied by council's efforts.
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Creswick resident, Mark Patterson, whose home suffered significant water damage and is still inhabitable five months on, said he felt his concerns were being neglected by the council.
"It's all just a big joke to them it seems," Mr Patterson said.
"This is the fourth time we've been flooded and council has been no help.
"We're still out of our homes and still battling insurance companies."
Creswick public housing complex resident, Russell Castley, said he received "absolutely nothing" from the council after his unit flooded during the storms.
While Hepburn Shire Council has committed more than $3.5 million to the storm clean-up, with a primary focus on clearing drains and repairing roads, Mr Patterson said he believed council funds could be better spent fixing the Creswick Creek which he believes is responsible for the frequent flooding.
"Before the amalgamation of Hepburn Shire Council and Creswick Council in 1996, we never experienced flooding like this because Creswick Shire Council cleaned the Creswick Creek annually which allowed the drain pipes a place to flow to," he said.
"(Hepburn Shire Council) promised to keep an eye on (the creek) and they haven't touched it since (the amalgamation) and now it's become filled with all sorts trees, gravel and so the water from the drain pipes have no where to go."
Mr Castley, whose complex had more than 20 of their 32 units impacted by the floods, said he agreed with a move to clean out the town's creek.
"When you get rain like this there's not much you can do but I think it would prove beneficial cleaning up the creek a bit," Mr Castley said.
He also suggested perhaps the council could implement a levee around the creek to help mitigate high flood waters.
Council's storm recovery plan also proposes a flood study to be conducted to assess longer term impacts of flooding with input from residents and experts in insurance, planning and engineering.
Mr Patterson said he believed the study would be futile in preventing a deluge unless much needed infrastructure is put in place.
They did a flood study in 2010 and two in 2012 and the floods still keep on happening. They say (the flooding) is a one in 100 lifetime event but since I've bought my property in 1995 I've experienced four so far.
- Creswick resident, Mark Patterson.
"They did a flood study in 2010 and two in 2012 and the floods still keep on happening. They say (the flooding) is a one in 100 lifetime event but since I've bought my property in 1995 I've experienced four so far," he said.
"They've got no idea how to spend our money; instead of spending money on a flood study council needs to be putting money into infrastructure."
Mr Patterson said infrastructure works are especially needed for homes located at the bottom part of Creswick's Albert Street.
"More than 50 of the flood victims are people whose homes are located at the lower part of the street and what's so desperately needed are drain pipes because the water currently has no where to go," he said.
Hepburn Shire Council mayor Cr Tim Drylie acknowledged many residents still remained displaced and said the council's recovery team are working hard to provide the Creswick community with relevant services and support.
"It's been more than five months since the storm and we recognise the incredible difficulty faced by many whose lives have been severely impacted by this event. Our hearts go out to them," Cr Drylie said.
"Our storm recovery team is continuing to work with the community, connecting people with services such as financial counselling, health and other support, and working one-on-one with residents."
He also said the council's 2022/23 draft budget included a program related to addressing Creswick's storm water network.
"We have included a number of localised drainage projects in our draft budget, which were identified through consultation with residents. A full flood study will provide more comprehensive and data driven improvements to the drainage network, but we will need funding from the Victorian Government for a project of that scale," Cr Drylie said.
Mr Patterson said residents were fed up with the council's inaction, saying flood victims are on the verge of seeking a solicitor to start a class action.
"It's costing me, in stress, in money and I'm upset because I can't give my wife the house I bought her since we can't live in it," he said.
"I've been told by the mayor to be patient but how much more patient can I be when I can't even live in my own home."
Mr Patterson, who is currently living in a private rental, said talks were circulating among flood victims to establish a new council.
"We're thinking about breaking away from the Hepburn Shire Council and having our own separate Creswick Shire."
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