Chiltern's Golden Ball Cafe and Gelato Bar owners hope drainage fix can prevent more flooding

Golden Ball Cafe and Gelato Bar owners John and Enza Rumble live in the building and only open the eatery three days a week, but were gutted to lose their final day's trade before they take off for a holiday.

Mr and Mrs Rumble have flagged a drainage issue with Indigo Shire Council, which they said has contributed to the flood.

"It's not unusual to flood down the laneway next to us, but the biggest problem is all the water runs down Main Street, hits Conness Street and runs to the two drains out the front of the cafe," Mr Rumble said.

"Once they fill it starts to overflow and runs down the lane, but near the information centre there's a big grated drain that goes under the road and all the debris gets picked up and blocks it so the water backfills here.

"To give you an idea of the water pressure coming from the drains, there's an 80-kilogram pit lid at the top which popped up and floated away.

"Water went right through our house and the cafe and was at least two feet deep in the backyard."

IN OTHER NEWS:

The couple experienced a flood around the cafe in December and another a year-and-a-half ago, but Mrs Rumble said this was by far the worst as water rushed under the doors.

"I woke to the dog barking and went to the bathroom and it was all wet," she said

"I went outside and I couldn't see the top step so I went and got John and I panicked and called triple-0."

Mr Rumble said they were fortunate most of the house is floored with concrete and tiles which prevented major damage.

"If we had have already been on holidays it would have been a lot worse. To come back to that would have been awful," he said.

The Rumbles are hopeful Indigo Shire Council can come up with a solution to ensure drains do not block in future and another major flood can be avoided.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: