A pensioner claims his house has been left uninhabitable as a result of sewage spill damage that WaterCorp is refusing to clean up.
Donald Allison’s heritage-listed cottage in South Fremantle was flooded when a wastewater main in Spearwood burst in June.
Five months later, the 66-year-old says WaterCorp has made a “goodwill” allowance of $533 and closed his case, despite estimates that repairs could exceed $100,000.
He was directed to file an insurance claim, but that has also stalled.
“Five months out I’ve yet to see any work commence and I’ve got no idea when I can move back in,” Mr Allison said.
“After the sewage eventually stopped flowing, after three or four days, (WaterCorp) waited for it all to drain underneath. Then they cleaned up a few square metres of external brick work and left, and said that ends our responsibility.”
He has written to local Labor MP and former Water Minister Simone McGurk, whose office told him in October that they could only “reinvigorate” his query with new Water Minister Don Punch if he withdrew a formal complaint lodged with the Energy and Water Ombudsman.
“They’re just using their weight and power to stare down a pensioner,” Mr Allison said.
“It’s an unequal battle.”
The cause of the spill that also inundated parts of Spearwood and Beaconsfield was still a mystery in July, when Mr Punch insisted the risk of a repeat was low.
The Minister’s past praise for WaterCorp’s response has left Mr Allison more frustrated.
“He said Water Corporation did a really bang up job in response to the first pipe. No, they didn’t. They actually made one localised problem much, much worse,” he said.
“The disruption right across the southern suburbs only occurred after they got onto their valves and diverted sewage here and there.
“It was their actions to deal with the first pipe that caused mass destruction right across the southern suburbs.”
WaterCorp and Mr Punch have been contacted for comment.
The Opposition says Donald Allison’s case is not an isolated case, and pointed to the Hollywood Specialist Centre in Nedlands where another spill has closed consulting rooms on the ground floor.
“Patients recovering from knee surgery were forced to climb two flights of steps to see a specialist,” Shadow Water Minister Peter Rundle said.
“More than six months later, most of the consulting groups remain closed. Where is Water Corporation? Nowhere to be seen.”
Mr Rundle accused the Government of neglecting maintenance, and leaving regional areas in short supply.
“Frankly, the Cook Government is responsible for a shit show of water resource mismanagement across the State,” he said.
“It’s not good enough and it needs to be literally and figuratively cleaned up.”
