WHILE many people have welcomed the construction of the newly opened –then closed –Bulahdelah Bypass, a number of residents are considering legal action to repair damage done to their homes by increased runoff from Alum Mountain.
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Carol Newman is faced with selling her car to fund legal action after exhausting all avenues of complaint with the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and building contractor Baulderstone.
“I’ve contacted everybody until I’m blue in the face so I’ve got no other option but to take them (RMS) to court,” Ms Newman said.
“I’ve lived here for 40 years and I’ve never flooded until now. I’ve been trying to get something done for 12 months but no one will take any responsibility.”
Ms Newman believes the blasting and tree removal carried out during the construction of the bypass has weakened Alum Mountain and caused a huge increase in runoff that repeatedly floods her property. Holding dams put in place by the RMS to deal with runoff were built above her property during construction. When they are full they overflow, flooding her property with muddy water and polluting her dam. When they are deliberately discharged through a pipe her property is flooded all over again.
“I’ve got two dams and 12 months ago you could have walked out there with a glass and drunk the water straight out of them but now the chooks have died and I’m trucking water in for the horses. And it’s all heading towards the river and the wetlands as well.”
Since blasting works for the bypass were carried out in 2011, nearby resident Samran Newman (no relation) has seen cracks appearing around her Meade Street home.
She said cracks were in “every corner” of the inside of the home, as well as on her outside steps. She linked the blasting works to leaks that had occurred in her roof, and the concrete floor of her bathroom, which was only renovated in 2004.
Ms Newman has had builders quote more than $10,000 to fix the damage, so she was shocked when she received an offer from the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to pay her $600.
“I was disgusted by the offer,” she said.
“They must have thought, because I’m an Asian woman living by myself, I am hungry for money.”
In fact, Mrs Newman doesn’t want any money at all – but for someone to come and fix the damage.
Ms Newman said the blasting was so loud she could not hear people on the other end of the telephone, and she could feel the shaking. She has put her case in the hands of a solicitor in the hope of getting a better outcome.
“If they have done nothing wrong, why do they offer me $600?” she asked.
Malcolm Carral, who has been documenting the damage using video and photographs, has witnessed huge changes on his beloved Alum Mountain since the bypass opened. He says there are more rock and boulder falls, and water now gushed down the mountain road in a way he had never seen before.
“It’s like something has been fractured down deep,” he said. “The water coming down the mountain road was like rapids. I’ve never seen it like that before.”
He said the increased water flowing down the mountain-side meant the mountain road, an access road for tourists, was no longer fit even for 4WD vehicles.
Mr Carral said the issue has been reported to RMS, Baulderstone and Great Lakes Council, and while there has been plenty of buck-passing, there has not been anyone trying to resolve it.
“They’re all blaming each other, but no one will take responsibility,” he said.
You can see the flooding on Carol’s land here:
You can watch Malcolm’s video of water rushing down Alum Mountain here:
