Mayor Wayne Johnston, on behalf of Meander Valley Council, wished to thank and acknowledge the work of volunteers and other community members who rolled up their sleeves and worked alongside Council’s team to help out in the immediate aftermath of the flood.

This was a true demonstration of working together and is what makes me so proud to represent our community.

“While we cannot control the weather, we can control how we respond to it. The flood and the remediation work have and will change some things, but we have an opportunity to reset, build resilience and achieve outcomes that will better support us and our region,” Mayor Wayne Johnston said.

Infrastructure Priorities

Council is prioritising the repair of local bridges and roads to make them safe, and to facilitate the movement of residents and tourists, and the transport of goods to aid economic recovery.

Further work being undertaken include road shoulder repairs, reinstatement of table drains and bridge abutments at multiple sites across the entire municipality, but particularly at the western end and at Liena Road and Gads Hill Road.

A temporary bridge has been installed on Mayberry Road to enable residents to have access to their properties and this will remain in place until further engineering and site works are completed ahead of the construction of a new structure.

Approximately 3,500 square metres of our sealed road network has been washed away.

These roads now have a formed gravel surface and we have crews working to prepare these surfaces for re-sealing.

Road works in some areas of Selbourne and Westwood are being further assessed to ensure remediation includes additional work to reduce the impact of future floods

Recovery works will ramp up over coming weeks with more favourable weather conditions and availability of more contractors.

Reparation works around Deloraine

Meander River, just south of the Deloraine township near Rotary Park is a priority area for Council.

There is an interesting accumulation of general bulky waste, a fridge, agricultural products, drums, chemical containers, pods, sawn logs and milled timber entangled in willows and other vegetation.

Removal of this material is not straight forward.

It a sensitive area with important environmental, visual and recreational values that must be protected or reinstated after works.

Council has approached the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and the owners of the land, Crown Land Services, to seek agreement on the best way to recover the site and minimise further environmental damage.

Clean-up works will start once advice from the Parks and Wildlife Service is obtained.

“It is inevitable that the clean-up and use of heavy equipment will have an impact.

“To create working space to access and safely remove the debris and rubbish, selective cutting of the willows and trimming of vegetation will be needed.

“We have no plans to pull any willow stumps out, we intend to leave them in place to help preserve the integrity of the riverbank until succession planting is established.

“Wood cut from the willows will create a pathway for machinery to get in, carefully collect the waste and then back out along the same path. This will help minimise soil compaction and disturbance.

“To reduce heavy machinery use for carting away, we may also burn some debris on site,” Council’s Director of Works, Matthew Millwood said.

“While the work will change the outlook along this stretch of the riverbank, over time Council will work to reinstate the look and feel of the area.

The remediation will also improve overall water flow and water quality in the duck pond area and lead to better environmental outcomes for the future of the site,” Council’s General Manager John Jordan said.

The Deloraine Swimming Pool is another facility that did not escape nature’s wrath, sustaining damage to the kiosk, change rooms, showers and the pool’s pumped heating and filter systems.

The opening of the pool will be delayed until all the pumps and filters are checked and the kiosk, change rooms and shower facilities are repaired or made fit for public use,” said Mayor Wayne Johnston.

The suspension footbridge spanning the Deloraine river, near the Train Park, remains closed.

During the flood, the bridge sustained structural damage and is still undergoing engineering assessment before any remedial work can be undertaken.

Mayor Wayne Johnston said that the flood recovery work is ongoing and he appreciates the community’s patience.

“We know that the closure of these facilities is disappointing and, in some cases inconvenient, but we must maintain safety for the public.

“We ask for everyone’s support by respecting the closures so that work can be finalised as quickly as possible.”