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Sump grate vandals cost ratepayers $50K a year

Wed 10 Feb 2010

The mindless removal of sump grates from the district’s roads is costing ratepayers around $50,000 a year.

Council contractors retrieved 177 grates in the second half of 2009 – an average of one every day with a noticeable spike over summer – most of which had been removed and deliberately dropped down the sump hole.

Council Roading Assets Manager Max Aves says: “This is pointless vandalism and people don’t realise how much it costs the community.
“Each grate has to be retrieved and refitted – with a bracket added to prevent a reoccurrence.

“It’s a costly and completely unnecessary exercise.”

The removed grates are also a safety hazard with one NPDC staff member suffering a badly grazed leg after stepping into the sump hole.

"It would be easy for someone to break their leg by stepping into a sump hole after a grate has been removed,” says Mr Aves.

“And if your car wheel dropped into one it could cause some costly damage."

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