Postponed: Cooma Weir and Fishway project

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The start date of the Cooma Weir and Fishway replacement project has been postponed until 2023 due to unsafe conditions following months of exceptionally heavy rains and river flows.

Council began the open tender process for this project in February 2022 with five submissions received, with these submissions discussed and evaluated at a meeting in April. Due to the high rains and river flows, the decision was made to delay the project until 2023.

The current conditions make undertaking the project as originally scheduled unsafe. Costs returned in the submitted tender applications are significantly higher than previous estimates, due to the heightened risk and difficulty of completing the project with rain and river flows continuing to be much higher than normal.

NSW Department of Primary Industries has indicated that rainfall will likely remain high over the next three months.

At the May 2022 meeting, Councillors voted to postpone the project until it is safe and economical to proceed next year. The companies that submitted tenders will be invited to make a submission during a select tender process (limited to the companies that made a submission during the earlier open tender) later this year.

The motion passed by Councillors additionally approved the conduct of detailed pre-construction planning by the project management team to assist tenderers in accurately estimating costs and risk.

Council would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding in the face of these delays.

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