November 3, 2021
South Burnett Regional Council will drain the Mount Wooroolin Reservoir so local tradespeople can put a new roof on it.
On Wednesday, Councillors learned that part of the reservoir’s roof was ripped off by a storm on October 18.
The structure is Kingaroy’s main treated water storage, and the incident exposed the reservoir’s contents to potential water contamination.
Council officers immediately reported the damage to the Water Regulator and Queensland Health, then hired Water Infrastructure Services (WIS) – a specialist reservoir company – to temporarily tarp up the structure to maintain water quality.
WIS also conducted a structural assessment of the remaining roof and found it had also been damaged in the storm.
The company recommended Council replace of the entire roof as soon as possible.
Officers told Wednesday’s Infrastructure Standing Committee meeting WIS had previously been hired to replace the roof on the Orana and Scott Street reservoirs.
The company had also previously tendered to replace the Mount Wooroolin Reservoir roof, but budget constraints at the time did not allow this work to go ahead.
Replacing a reservoir’s roof when it was full was very expensive because of the technical challenges involved in maintaining water quality.
However, officers said if Council drained the reservoir before starting repairs, local commercial builders or roof contractors could do the work instead.
This could result in cost savings as high as 90 per cent.
While the work is being carried out, Kingaroy’s water will be supplied from holding tanks.
