The Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust has responded to concerns about graffiti and other anti-social behaviour at its Loyalty Road Flood Basin in Excelsior Reserve at North Rocks.

To help address the problems the Trust's Executive Officer, Dr Stephen Lees, today announced that the Trust will:
· increase the frequency of maintenance visits,
· install new signs and clean or replace defaced sign,
· ask nearby residents to record brief details of incidents near the basin wall,
· match this information with data collected by the maintenance crews,
· use this data to build up a better picture of what is happening,
· meet with Baulkham Hills Shire Council and local police to devise better ways to deal with the problems, and
· help implement the required measures.

Dr Lees said that graffiti and rubbish were ongoing problems at the basin wall, but denied they are escalating or out of control. 'Graffiti is worst during school holidays, whilst the smashing of appliances mainly occurs when goods are left out in nearby streets for Council clean ups.'

'It is a shared community problem, ' he added. 'Although the Trust looks after the basin wall, Council manages the surrounding Reserve.'

'Apart from defacing signs, there has been no serious vandalism to the basin wall since it was built ten years ago at a cost of $9M to protect hundreds of downstream properties from major floods', Dr Lees added.

He went on to explain that a team of people serving Periodic Detention Orders, and their supervisor, visit the basin wall every two weeks to remove rubbish and paint over offensive graffiti. The Trust will arrange for the maintenance team to check the site every week from now on.

'There is a lot of hearsay about what is happening, but little hard data', Dr Lees added.

'We have had ongoing discussions with local police about the problems at the site, but its isolation makes surveillance difficult and there are many other demands on the time of police.'

'Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence, or adopting a knee-jerk reaction that might make matters worse, we will be asking local residents keep a diary of incidents to help us understand what is happening and when. The information collected will be used to help identify the best ways to control the anti-social behaviour. The Trust will also provide feedback to local residents and Council on what is to happen and the effectiveness of the new measures,' Dr Lees said.