Latest news with #IanHart
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
King tides, wild winds destroy jetties, cause flooding on SA coast
King tides, rain and strong winds have battered South Australia's coast, destroying three historic jetties and flooding properties with seawater. Wind gusts of 91 kilometres per hour were recorded at Cape Jaffa yesterday and gust of 78kph were recorded at Robe. At Kingston South East on the Limestone Coast the tide and wind completely split the 161-year-old jetty in two. "We do understand part of it has certainly collapsed and it's detached from one end to the other," Kingston District Council chief executive Ian Hart said. "It's probably not salvageable for a repair. The tide, waves and wind also forced water up the Maria Creek and led to flooding in low-lying areas. Roads were closed and power was cut to the Rosetown area for safety reasons. Thirty-six homes are still without electricity. Tony Bryant's home is near the creek and said the flooding turned his home into "an island". "We live over the back of Maria Creek, which has burst its bank with the king tide and the wind surge and flooded all of Rosetown again," he said. Mr Hart said the flooding was significant. "People who lived in the area a lot longer than I have say they've never seen anything like it for 50 years or more," he said. The busy tourist town of Robe's jetty – already closed due to damage from a storm a month ago – was also split in two and one home was inundated as the Lake Butler Marina flooded. Robe District Council chief executive Nat Traeger said the jetty was estimated to be worth $250,000. "There's some long-time locals there that have said they've not seen the coast or the sea as violent as it has been," she said. Part of the esplanade road at Fox Beach was washed away when waves crashed through and over sand dunes. "We've done some emergency work late last night … but we are now in a situation where we have road and foreshore side by side," Ms Traeger said. "There is no stop-gap with a sand dune there at all, so that is going to be a major problem for us and that road will be closed indefinitely." To the north, Normanville's 157-year-old jetty was also destroyed. Kiosk owner Rhett Day said the wind and waves slowly tore the jetty apart over the course of about five hours. "Now, there's just a couple of pylons sitting out on their own with a couple of twisted and buckled hand rails," he said.
ABC News
22-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Kingston South East sewerage project prioritised after health concerns, but costs high
A South Australian council hopes a project worth up to $25 million to connect sewerage to 651 properties will attract more people to live in the area while addressing concerns about water potentially being contaminated with faeces. Kingston South East has been moved to the top of the list for state government funding for an expanded sewerage system after advice from SA Health to the Kingston District Council about risks to public health and the environment from water being contaminated via aging and non-compliant septic systems. Some people use bores near neighbours' septic tanks for water in their houses and gardens that can then get contaminated with faeces, council chief executive Ian Hart said. "The proximity of bores to people's drinking supply and other domestic supply is a real issue in Kingston." If the project goes ahead, property owners where the new Community Wastewater Management System (CWMS) would be connected in the suburbs of Rosetown, Wyomi and Pinks Beach would have to pay a quarter of the cost of the new system, which the council estimates at $1,000 per property per year over 10 years. The other three quarters of the money for the new sewerage system would come from the state government via a grant scheme administered by the Local Government Association of South Australia. People would have to pay extra for their block to be connected to the new system. Resident Mark Lively estimated it could cost $23,000 to $28,000 per property, despite many of them already having functional septic systems. "This CWMS is basically just being done so the council can get 20 or 30 properties added onto their rate base," he said. About 270 of the blocks affected are vacant. People who want to build a house on them now have to install holding tanks for their wastewater. Les Gullickson and his wife, Sharon, are building a house in Kingston that they hope to retire to. They found out about the cost of emptying holding tanks after starting their build. "If they don't go ahead with the full sewerage and stuff like that, I think we'll be moving out of Kingston because we can't afford to [live here]," Mr Gullickson said. "If we have to pump it every two weeks, that's a rough estimate of $600 a month. "Times that by 12 months in a year, that's quite a few dollars more than what a sewerage system would cost to run, and if we had known that we had to do this, I may not have gone ahead with the build." Mr Hart said the estimated costs were only "indicative" until more detailed plans for the system could be drawn up. He said properties connected to the sewerage system would increase in value. "This project will enable them to build with confidence, and that will help Kingston because it means our town will grow and it means there will be more housing available," he said. "We know there is a housing shortage, and it will be good for our community." Consultation sessions on the project will be held this week, with a decision expected in the coming months. Work would start in mid-2026 and finish a year later. The project will not include adding piped drinking water to Rosetown, Wyomi or Pinks Beach. Residential property owners in the Kingston District Council are facing a 9 per cent rate increase this year, with the council also having to deal with multi-million-dollar projects to fix the Kingston jetty and the Maria Creek boat ramp, as well as ongoing costs related to the Cape Jaffa marina.
