18 December 2020
Tweed Shire Council workers have brought the Uki Water Treatment Plant back online after two bursts of high floodwaters twice cut power to a critical electrical switchboard this week.
The reticulated water supply to the village was interrupted on Monday night when floodwaters submerged the electrical equipment that powers the pumps which draw raw water from the Tweed River into the plant for treatment.
Then, on Wednesday night after another burst of heavy rain, the equipment was submerged again and power was cut once more.
While workers restored power quickly after both incidents, the raw water quality was not suitable for treatment due to the dirtiness of the water and amount of flood debris in the river.
By this morning, the raw water quality had improved sufficiently to treat water and the plant was brought back online, allowing Council to stop tankering emergency water supplies to the village.