Paul Marche believes a collaborative approach could be used to prevent the type of flooding that washed out driveways in Port au Port East in January of last year.
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While his driveway washed out a couple of times over the years, he said last year’s flooding was the worst ever in the 28 years he has lived in the town, that time cutting off access to his property.
Marche believes that if representatives from the Department of Transportation and Works, the Port au Port East town council and residents affected were to meet and talk they could identify an appropriate solution for all concerned.
While he didn’t have any himself, he said there are local households in the community who have suffered property damage to their homes due to flooding.
Marche said he reported the situation to the Department of Transportation and Works maintenance depot in Stephenville and after no repairs were done he was eventually forced to pay for material and equipment himself to have the necessary repairs made.
He said even though the Department of Transportation and Works does a "top-notch job" on snow clearing and ice control, it appears there is much less emphasis placed on preparing for recurring flooding.
Marche said last year during a time of severe and changeable weather the operations work crew and equipment did not reach the area until the water topped the road.
He said it seems there is no one entity to blame and nobody is willing to take full responsibility to rectify the problem.
Asked if he feared future flooding in the town, he said it’s difficult to make that kind of comparative analysis since there’s months of winter and early spring to come.
“There is plenty of time for heavy rains to overflow the snow blocked ditches and culverts – a recipe for future flooding,” Marche said.
