Council commits funds to fix Mooball Creek training walls

25 August 2020

Matching funding needed for job to go ahead

Tweed Shire Council has resolved to commit $290,000 towards repairing the Mooball Creek training walls at Pottsville if matching funding can be secured from NSW Crown Lands.

The funding commitment was made at a Council meeting last week (Thursday 20 August).

The Mooball Creek training walls were built in the 1970s to help manage the floodplain.

But over the years, they have been severely damaged by heavy seas and are now missing sections of crest with many rocks lost into coastal sands.

It is believed the poor condition of the walls may be contributing to the silting up of the creek mouth, preventing upstream waters flowing to the ocean.

Other factors contributing to the dumping of sand at the creek mouth include the flow of the creek and sand moved by ocean swells.

In 2018, Council had to intervene and open the creek mouth after it became blocked with sand.

At the time, heavy rain raised further concerns about the possibility of flooding affecting upstream agricultural lands and Pottsville waterfront residential property if the creek mouth remained blocked.

In 2019, Council applied for grant funding to fix the walls under the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund but its application was not successful.

Subsequent inquiries have confirmed that while the walls are built on Council-managed Crown Land, they are a Council floodplain asset.

Tweed Shire Council Manager Roads and Stormwater Danny Rose welcomed Council’s decision but advised the Pottsville community that the repair would not go ahead without a matching funding commitment.

“If we cannot secure matching funds from Crown Lands we will continue to seek grant funding where we can but the repair cannot be done solely from Council’s floodplain asset management budget,” Mr Rose said.

Deputy Mayor Councillor Chris Cherry said the Pottsville community had long campaigned for the repairs.

“Hopefully the NSW Government will greenlight the project, by contributing money from Crown Lands, and we can see this work come to fruition before we get any more major flooding.

“If we do secure this additional funding we will consult with the community on the best way to carry out these works for a successful long-term outcome for our residents,” Cr Cherry said.

To view the Council meeting minutes, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/CouncilMeetings

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Caption: Council workers unblock the mouth of Mooball Creek in 2018.