Phil Donato says improved water infrastructure key to help Central West prepare for weather extremes

The Central Western Daily, alongside fellow ACM daily titles in western NSW like the Western Advocate and Daily Liberal, penned an open letter to Canberra asking what our leaders plan to do to protect the disaster-weary Australians who call the bush home following years of heartbreaking drought and now back-to-back-to-back record-breaking wet years.

Over the past two-and-a-half years alone, people living in regional NSW have had to deal with the real and imminent risk of insufficient water, the need to boil water due to failing water treatment infrastructure leaving thousands without drinkable water for weeks and do not flush alerts due to inundated sewerage infrastructure.

Our regional road network is crumbling and, state and national highways are in need of major upgrades, while in the last month failing gas lines have left thousands without heating or hot water for days.

The Orange region has also endured the most heartbreaking flood event in our history too, with two people confirmed dead while thousands of people have faced multiple evacuations notices due to the flooding.

"All of these issues are directly related to the climate events we have endured in a little over two and a half years, none in relation to this past week's disaster," our letter reads.

Mr Donato said it's going to take an extensive period of months and years to get the community of Eugowra back up on its feet, and potentially "billions of dollars to recover, when you look across the whole state".

He said the need to look at water infrastructure was at the top of his list.

"I'm a big supporter of the Wyangala expansion," he said.

"We have to look at harvesting water when we can, especially in times like 2022. It's so important we try and collect as much water as we can, because we know drought is coming and we need that security.

"Our water infrastructure is pivotal because without water we can't maintain life. We have to capture it, harness it and ensure that security.

"When was the last time a dam was built in NSW? It was decades ago. We need serious investment across the state.

"How much water are we losing over Wyangala at the moment? And that's just one dam."

He said major infrastructure corridors - including freight on rail and roads - have been built but haven't had the level of maintenance required to ensure they're capable of standing up to prolonged rain events, like the three consecutive La Ninas we've been dealt with since 2020.

"There's got to be a complete reset in thinking around it all," Mr Donato said.

"And we need to ensure these key infrastructure pieces, big and small, are being maintained properly. We've got culverts across the region that aren't maintained. That creates blockages, and those obstructions build up to create a dam effect along the creek systems and roads.

"There's a whole range of things that need to be considered, but we have to plan for the future now. These events will occur, and we need to be ready."

Orange City Council has been at the forefront of the local government response in places like Eugowra and Molong, and sent council administration and engineering staff, street sweepers, a water tanker, three trucks for clean up, water crews, stock feed and HR staff to assist Cabonne Council where needed.

Support for the emergency services involved in evacuations is also being provided at the Orange Airport.

Orange mayor Jason Hamling said that was the least the city could do to assist its neighbours, which have been helped by volunteer organisations like the RFS and SES on the ground too.

But Cr Hamling said more support could be triggered if a clearer message was being sent to those willing to help.

He believes a coordinated response directed by a single body would ramp up both the rescue efforts and then clean-up process.

"It'd be great if there was one person, one body in charge that says 'do this, do that'," Cr Hamling said.

"You don't want multiple people out there doing or offering the same thing.

"There's got to be more preparation for events like these. There's a lot of money spent on the reaction, we need more spent on the preparation."

Mr Donato has been in Eugowra on multiple occasions in the last week and says the response to the help they're getting has been overwhelmingly positive.

He said having spoken to the Premier Dom Perrottet the NSW Government will work to provide the necessary support for the impacting residents.

Last week initial funding announcements included $75,000 for primary produces and $10,000 for small property owners, while $15 million was announced for eight Local Government Areas across regional NSW to improve roads hit hardest by floods.

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