By JESSE GRAHAM
A YARRA Glen man has demanded the council return a decommissioned water standpipe for public use, and has rallied hundreds of community members behind the cause.
But the council has said the standpipe was used illegally by residents and businesses, and was shut down for occupational health and safety reasons after the council was left $4000 out of pocket.
Joe Balog has asked the council to return the water standpipe to the corner of Steels Creek Road and Yarra Glen-Eltham Road.
The stand was decommissioned on 31 July.
Mr Balog, who lost his house in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and does not have a water connection, said the loss of the standpipe was a blow to people who depended on it for day-to-day water supplies.
He said that other residents had been incensed by the standpipe being removed, and that he had about 400 signatures on a petition calling for its return.
Yarra Ranges Council’s Director of Environment and Engineering, Mark Varmalis, told the Mail that residents and businesses had been using the pipe to avoid paying for water, and that in the last financial year, council was charged $4122 for the water taken from it.
“It works out to be over 1.4 million litres of water per year, or approximately 3900 litres per day – the average person uses 149 litres per day,” he said.
The standpipe, which was under council control, had signage placed on it directing users to a Yarra Valley Water supply point 80 metres away, and had locks placed on it to restrict access.
These were cut off by unknown people.
“As there is a Yarra Valley Water access point close by and because people were ignoring the OH&S warnings, the standpipe was decommissioned,” he said.
Mr Balog said that he wanted the stand returned for public access – with no locks on it – in time for the summer fire season.
“That water is needed for people who do not have town water,” he said.
“It is its primary purpose and people depend on it.”
