Mr Ryan, who returned to Bathurst almost a decade ago, now lives with his mother on Vittoria Street, who originally raised the issue with Bathurst Regional Council some 40 years ago. 

Now Mr Ryan is concerned that there’ll be an accident if it’s not sorted. 

“My parents have lived here for over 50 years and this has been an issue for 40 years,” he said.

“When it rains, the water builds up and goes across the road because its not being probably drained. We’ve been told that the pipe under the road has been compressed over time with the weight of trucks going over it.

“That pipe and drain should be able to deal with it, if it is working but it isn’t. 

“My mum wrote to the council 40 years ago to get the issue sorted and we haven’t had any luck.”

When it rains, the gutter out the front of Mr Ryan’s house fills up with water, but because it doesn’t drain properly, it overflows onto his front lawn, down his driveway and across the road. 

One of the most recent occurrences was on January 28, when Mr Ryan recorded 50 millimetres of rain in 40 minutes.

“The gutters and drains should normally be able to deal with all the rain, if it was working properly,” he said.

“The gutters get backed up and the other day, there was an inch of silt in the garage. After it stops raining, all the water lingers for hours afterwards.” 

Mr Ryan, who wants council to fix the problem, believes there will be an accident if something is not done.

“It takes real talent to do nothing for 40 years,” he said.

“It’s not just affecting us, but drivers as well. With all this water building up by the side of the road, it’s a risk to motorists who drive past.” 

Bathurst mayor Graeme Hanger said there are no plans, by council, for any major upgrade of drainage in the area.

“That’s certainly not to say that we can’t take a look and see what we can do, which we will,” he said.

“Works of that nature are considered a maintenance issue and as such are programmed accordingly so the drain would be cleaned out periodically as resources permit.”

Flooding occurred on Vittoria Street again on Friday, February 8.