THERE may be no gain without pain. The question, though, is just how much pain can be justified?
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That’s certainly the question business owners and residents in Perthville are currently asking as the expected final day for flood mitigation works passes with an end to the work nowhere in sight.
Bathurst Regional Council has already copped some flak for starting the much-needed works six weeks ago, meaning the Perthville Bridge would be out of action over the Great Race weekend.
But that inconvenience was nothing compared to what villagers have had to endure since.
Of course, you would be hard-pressed finding anyone in Perthville who opposes the flood mitigation work.
For too long this area has remained the missing piece of Bathurst Regional Council’s flood mitigation puzzle, the final upgrade in a project that has been running for almost 20 years.
That has meant that while most of the Bathurst city and surrounding region has been flood-free in recent years, homes in Perthville have still been inundated when Queen Charlottes Vale Creek has burst its banks.
We only have to go back to the middle of last year to see the damage that can cause – with the last flood coming as new flood mitigation pipes lay tantalisingly beside the creek waiting for installation.
And so Perthville had geared itself up for six weeks of inconvenience with their sights focused squarely on the light at the end of the tunnel – a flood-free future.
But as that six-week mark passes on Monday morning, it still looks like a return to normality is some way off for Perthville.
And council’s explanation for the delay is unlikely to make local residents and businesses any happier.
We’re told that excavation for the new levee and stormwater flood pumps revealed material of poor quality at the base of the culvert foundation, requiring excavation to an additional depth of two metres.
So as the deadline for the end of work passes, Perthville remains without a southern approach to Perthville Bridge and, instead, a large pool of water has collected in its place.
Worse, locals say they have been left in the dark about the delays and have not been advised of a new expected completion date.
You can hardly blame them for being irritated.
Delays may be unavoidable, but a lack of communication is not.