The neighbour of a proposed Bobs Farm cable park has expressed concern that the area's drainage network isn't up to the task of coping with development in the basin.
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The Griffiths family, behind Ride Water Park at 775-781 Marsh Road, have sought council approval for plans that are expected to detail how the ponds will withstand a one-in-10 year flood and how excess water will be discharged to Tilligerry Creek in that event.
The site and neighbouring properties along Nelson Bay Road were made usable after World War I when farmers established a network of drains and flood gates on Tilligerry Creek to prevent the tidal ingress of water onto those farms.
"I'm not against development but the drains aren't up to the task of taking water away as it is," neighbour Patrick Mathon said.
The water from "hundreds of acres" of neighbouring land drains through Mr Mathon's property. He said the upkeep on the drainage channels was a big task for him while Port Stephens Council had only recently repaired part of the levvy and flood gates on his property.
"Years of having the flood gates leaking mean the mangroves now choke the drain," he said.
“I reported the levvy bank as leaking next to the flood gate in 2016 and I suggested they consider any future development of the area in the design of an upgrade.”
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Mr Mathon will soon vacate the property since he has sold it to Sydney restaurateur Vien Nguyen for organic vegetable production.
Despite leaving, he wished to see Mr Nguyen make a go of it.
"This land is really important. We need to take care of the small amount of agricultural land that's left and hasn't been used for development," Mr Mathon said.
Planning for the recreational facility first started 4.5 years ago and needs to clear two hurdles. The first, currently under council consideration, is an amendment to the land's rural zoning to allow outdoor recreational use of the land. The subsequent step will be a full development application that the Griffiths family has said will be accompanied by a raft of up-to-date expert reports that address traffic, water management and other environmental criteria as the council required.
Mr Mathon said it was his opinion, from what he had seen, that the plans lacked detail and in parts contained the wrong information.
He said the pond, included in the cable park plans available to him, depicted a spillway with the intention that it should take water to the Tilligerry Creek in times of flood.
Mr Mathon said this would not happen as the topography was wrong.
"I'm concerned that council might be influenced by previous reports that have errors and omissions," he said.
Ride Water Park director Shane Griffiths said the development was based on science rather than emotion.
"Some people have said there's holes in the reports but they're saying this about reports they haven't even read yet," he said.
"We're taking the concerns of the community seriously but it is unfortunate that these concerns are based on hearsay and speculation."
Mr Griffiths, one of three directors, said the spillway would be a legal point of discharge to Tilligerry Creek with Port Stephens Council to have full access.
"The land goes this way and that way and it's going to be reshaped at the point of discharge," he said.
"I want to go into it now but the report will cover this at the development application stage."
One of the other issues Mr Mathon raised was what he said was the omission from plans of his 40 megalitre stock and domestic water licence (bore) in a hydrology report. Mr Griffiths said the park’s plans had evolved since the early days. Based on the information of his hydrologist Mr Griffiths said the park’s impacts had been carefully considered.
He highlighted one particular passage in the groundwater section that states there would be “no net groundwater extraction caused by the development in the long term”.
The report goes on to say there would be “minimal change or slight increase in overall recharge volumes” and recommends that a monitoring bore network will assess actual changes.
Further, the consultant states that there would me “minimal change or no change in groundwater” and that data loggers “will assess actual changes”.
The Griffiths said they had spent $150,000 on consultant-reports so far.
