The recent Waratah-Wynyard Council meeting of 16 May had this as part of an agenda item:-
To provide Council with an information update in regard to concerns raised regarding the condition of the Waratah Weir and consequences if failure of the weir occurs.
The briefing in the formal agenda relating to this item was as follows:
Waratah Weir On 9 May 2021 an official Dam Safety Emergency Incident Report was lodged regarding the Waratah Weir. That complaint stated (in part):
This identified Dam Incident has the clear and real potential to immediately and extremely adversely affect the health of several vulnerable people living in the Waratah community, and also visitors to Waratah, by instantly leaving the whole town without a water supply and any means to use showers or toilets for weeks if not months until the situation was rectified.
The damage could possibly include the overtopping of Smith Street (where the undersized culvert runs just 1300mm below its surface), the Heritage Mining Museum building, the tourist viewing platforms, the Heritage Power Station downstream, and also the danger posed to itinerant occupants and visitors to the Public Caravan Park and town.
The material and serious environmental harm is the potential loss of much of the platypus population over the Waratah falls, and the Sewage Treatment Plant not being able to operate as it is required by Environmental Law and Health standards to treat and dilute the town’s sewage before it goes straight into the Waratah River downstream.
This a frightening outlook for the residents and the entire community of Waratah and for long-term tourism and business.
So one would have thought a robust and incisive discussion would have occurred relating to this? No, one is overthinking this. It did not happen.
After all the co-called Waratah-Wynyard Council cares very little about this tiny historical town that annoyingly makes up half its name.
It’s a matter of record that they spend bugger all money on facilities and maintenance, let alone enhancing the tourist flavour of the town.
After minimal, almost zero debate the councillors unanimously approved these outcomes:
That Council: 1. Note the Condition Assessment in relation to the Waratah Weir; 2. Note the Dambreak Consequence Assessment in relation to the Waratah Weir; 3. Note the Dam Safety Emergency Plan to be lodged with the Dam Safety Regulator; 4. Note the planned works on the Waratah Weir to be undertaken by TasWater.
Well. More notes there than a Mozart symphony, but oh for a cymbal crash of concrete action! No, it’s the usual zip zero zilch nada positive actions.
Furthermore, the attachments associated with the agenda item have been removed from the minutes. This leaves us unable for example to read and comprehend the safety measures to be put in place in the event this drastic event occurred – see photo above.
This is not a council it is a bloody circus. Although, to be fair, the circus at least go to the trouble of putting on a decent show after they take your money.
Well may we remember the last time the town flooded in1975– see photo below. A recurrence is now a distinct possibility, and the inaction and mismanagement courtesy of the WarWyn Council and TasWater have made it so.
BACKGROUND: EricA Arboretum – Tasmanian Times
