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Omaha resident Forres McPheat raised concerns last October that a child may be injured or even killed unless grilles were installed on two new stormwater outlet pipes adjacent to the community boat ramp in Omaha (MM, Oct 13).
McPheat can now breathe a sigh of relief after Auckland Council undertook a further review of the pipes and then installed a grille over each one last month.
“I am totally relived to see these safety grilles fitted to the drain outlets at the Omaha boat ramp,” he said.
“I’d been concerned some kids might crawl up the pipes (which are 675mm across) because I know what’s at the other end – a six cubic metre-concrete interceptor tank where a child could potentially get stuck and drown.”
McPheat was satisfied council had addressed all his concerns.
“I’ve had a good look. The grilles have a locking mechanism that can’t be undone without some skill or tools, so it’s not something a kid’s going to be able to casually open and go in.
“Originally, I phoned the council and got a ‘not-interested reply’, which is why I then approached Mahurangi Matters. Your reporter at the time Sally Marden contacted the council and asked, ‘What are you doing about it?’
“So thank-you to the paper for getting involved and actually getting a result.”
Senior Healthy Waters specialist Ifti Ahmad said that as it was not an industry standard to install grilles on outlets due to the risk of blockages worsening flooding.
“However, due to the concerns raised by the community, we made an exception at this location.
