MidCoast Council will spend $4.1 million to restore a permanent water supply to Wingham after the pipeline supplying the town was damaged during the flood.
Councillors supported a recommendation at last Wednesday's extraordinary Council meeting to urgently replace the damaged section of pipeline that supplies water to Wingham's reservoirs from Bootawa Dam.
Water supply to the reservoirs was unexpectedly cut off during the flood when the pipeline was damaged where it crosses the Manning River. Council immediately began implementing emergency solutions to keep supply up to the community, including carting water to the reservoirs, making a water tanker available for residents to fill up containers, and handing out bottled water. Staff also worked to urgently reconfigure the network so water could be pumped backwards from Kolodong Reservoir to Wingham's reservoirs.
This solution remains in place, with flow levels in the river still too high to assess the damage to the pipeline.
Council's Director of Infrastructure and Engineering Services, Rob Scott, said it was a credit to the staff involved that they were able to get the emergency solutions in place so quickly. He also praised the people of Wingham for their understanding and appreciation, despite everything they were going through.
"We're really pleased with the way we were able to come through this together, but it's important that Council moves quickly to restore a permanent water supply to Wingham," said Mr Scott.
"The solution we have in place at the moment was only ever meant to be temporary and there is a risk that if it fails it would significantly impact water supply to customers in the entire northern part of our network, not just those in Wingham."
Council considered several options to restore a permanent water supply to Wingham, including trying to repair the existing pipeline once it could be accessed and inspected.
But Mr Scott said this would still leave it vulnerable to damage if another flood occurred.
"The existing pipeline was built in the 1960s and trenched into the bottom of the Manning River, which is not really a common practice anymore," he said.
"By drilling under the riverbed and putting a new pipeline in place, we can avoid the risk of the pipeline being damaged by flood debris or impacted by erosion to the riverbank."
The project will be funded from Council's Water fund and will include upgrades to the access road off Abbotts Road. Tenders will not be sought for the project, with Councillors delegating authority to Council's General Manager to enter into negotiations to appoint contractors and subcontractors to complete the work.
Mr Scott said this process was being followed to ensure a permanent water supply could be restored as soon as possible.
"Under normal circumstances, a project of this scale would take us around 12 to 18 months to complete," he said.
"But given the risks associated with the temporary solution, we're fast-tracking it and believe we can have it completed within four to five months, which is a great outcome for the people of Wingham."
Work has already begun on the project and further updates will be supplied to the community as the project progresses.
