The Lithgow local government area, has experienced regular and heavy rainfall over the past two months. This has resulted in widespread impacts to infrastructure and community assets. Thankfully, there are avenues to pursue for responses to the natural disaster, however there are other impacts that must be covered by Council’s own resources.
“With respect to our road network, the rain has resulted in a complete shift in Council’s priorities,” said Lithgow City Council’s General Manager, Craig Butler. “While we were previously focussed on delivering Council’s $3.7M 2021/22 road renewal program, the wet weather has ground this work to a halt. Instead, Council’s resources are now entirely dedicated to restoring the damage caused by the rain, with staff on Magpie Hollow Road and Baaners Lane at present. We have assessed the road network as a whole and prioritised a large list of preventative and responsive work. These tasks will be addressed over the coming months.”
“In addition to our road network, the morning sun and afternoon rain has resulted in an extremely difficult growing season,” said Mr. Butler. “The prevalence of green, open spaces are fundamental to the beauty of this city, but with grass growing so fast, we could double the mowers and still struggle to maintain it. It remains a fact that we have limited resources to direct to a large works program. We must live within our means financially and shift resources continually to balance the broad needs of our community. For a period, this will mean some longer grass or more pothole. This is unfortunate.
The wet weather has also had impacts on Council’s waste operations and projects,” noted Council’s General Manager. “Delays have been experienced with the construction of the new Resource Recovery Centre at Lithgow. Rectification works have been required at the former landfill at Cullen Bullen to deal with sub-surface water. Managing water at Lithgow and Wallerawang landfills has also been challenging but we are working hard to ensure water remains on-site or only leaves site in accordance with licence requirements. All landfill sites have increased weeds that require control, additional road base is required for all weather access and to manage tracked mud. We continue to assess these requirements and shift resources in response.”
“Overall, I ask that the community keep in mind that Council’s priorities are not limited to roads and they do not remain static,” said Mr. Butler. “We are experiencing challenges in managing all of our assets in the face of natural disasters and a period where business is disrupted. However, I have every confidence that our staff are responding in the most appropriate way possible. I thank the community for their patience and understanding and wish all a very happy holiday period.”
