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It has been revealed that the Waitakere City Council was aware of the potential dangers surrounding the stormwater drain where toddler Aisling Symes' body was found.
Two-year-old Aisling was found on Monday night inside a drain on Longburn Rd in Henderson, west Auckland, a week after she went missing.
Police say the results of a post mortem examination are consistent with drowning.
The property where Aisling was found was next to that of her late grandparents, where her mother had been working.
Neighbours have told ONE News they repeatedly complained about
the manhole cover coming off the stormwater drain, the last time
being just days before Aisling went missing.
Flooding has had Longburn Road residents up in arms for years.
"The backyard floods and the manhole is constantly lifted off and we've complained and complained," says Sonya Carrington, a neighbour.
Carrington says she lived on an adjoining property for two years, but moved across the road because of concerns about the drain.
She had filmed how the drain reacted in times of heavy rain and the footage showed water rushing from the drain, under a garage and toward the creek at the back of Longburn Road properties.
Neighbours in Longburn Road have complained to the council twice in the past month.
"The last time I spoke to them they actually said that the amount of water that comes through is so great it blows the lid off the manhole at number five," says Stacey Baker, a Longburn Road landlord.
That is the address where Aisling is believed to have gone into
a stormwater drain through an open manhole. And an open manhole lid
is a big danger to the public.
The council admits it was looking into the flooding and the open
manhole problem at Number 5 Longburn Road, but while it was making
plans back at the office, the lid had popped again, with the
council not returning to fix it.
This was just days before Aisling disappeared.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey spoke on Tuesday morning about the state of the area's stormwater drains.
"No one pays much attention to them and that's the way it's been," he said at the time.
But late Tuesday afternoon, he told ONE News he is determined to find out if a quicker council response could have saved Aisling's life.
"We will ask the questions. They'll be hard questions and I will make sure they are asked. I'll do that. That I promise you," says Harvey.
They plan to have a full council briefing within the next 10 days.
