Snowy Monaro Regional Councillors will debate a critical report at this week’s council meeting, highlighting significant issues with a number of water reservoirs in urgent need of repair or replacing.

Since June this year, council has reviewed most of its critical water infrastructure and identified deficiencies requiring ‘rectification before an adverse event occurs’.

In the business paper before council, and publicly available, council said it has taken preventative measures to reduce the possibility of ‘catastrophic failure’ to its assets, such as decommissioning the Chapman Street, Cooma, high level tank.

Council has also reduced the operational parametres of at-risk reservoirs to maximum fill heights of 60 per cent capacity to reduce pressure on structures.

The report says the Snowy reservoir (failed Cooma North water tank in 2020), both East Jindabyne booster tanks and Pine Hill reservoir all need replacing.

The East Jindabyne booster pumps both need refurbishment (one has already failed), the Cooma water treatment plant electrical board and clearwater tank also need replacing.

“The Chapman Street high level tank has been internally assessed as being beyond economically viable to refurbish, and during the investigation the tank was noted as having a ‘lean’ to the north,” the business paper report states.

“This ‘lean’ introduces eccentric loading which the structure was never designed to resist and raises serious questions as to the stability of the tank’s foundations. Currently this tank is empty pending demolition.

“The loss of this tank is not critical to water supply and variable speed pumps can be installed at a later date to provide increased water pressure if necessary.”

Councillors will vote on whether to expand the $5 million budget for replacing the Snowy reservoir to include other identified reservoirs at risk, and to allocate funds from the $1.15 million budgeted for the East Jindabyne booster reservoir to take in necessary upgrades to other critical pumps and infrastructure.

Further issues exist at the Berridale Short Street reservoir. Council says the reservoir ‘is not in good condition’.

“The failure of booster pump one has placed council in a precarious position and the full duty is now being borne solely by booster pump 2,” the report states.

“These pumps are half -million-dollar seven multistage design, that is, multiple (7) impellers on one shaft increasing pressure sequentially.

The pumps are pumping against an elevation of 302m and friction head of approximately 150m”.

Council said it has been searching nationwide for a backup pump capable of pumping against this head, so far without success, while repairs are undertaken on the permanent pump.

“A search of records cannot find when these pumps were last overhauled, if ever, and if booster pump two fails, we have no means of pumping water to the Berridale community,” the report states.

“Fortunately however, by council originally assuming to build like for like in the replacement of Snowy reservoir and East Jindabyne booster tanks one and two, adequate budget should be available to build all of the tanks requiring imminent replacement, so long as a technology substitution is adopted.

“Negating our liabilities within the existing budgets is a significant win for delivering a resilient water supply network without extra cost to the ratepayer.”

The final council meeting for 2025 will be held on Thursday, 18 December in the Cooma office council chambers from 1pm. The meeting is live-streamed via the council website.