THE low level bridge on Hereford Street has reopened following minor flooding in the Bathurst area, marking the end of a busy few days for Bathurst State Emergency Service (SES) crews.
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The bridge was closed at around 10.15pm Saturday night as the height of the Macquarie River climbed, eventually peaking at 3.48 metres in Bathurst at about 2.15am.
It wasn't long before the water level began to fall, allowing the bridge to be reopened at about 8am on Sunday, April 7.
As of that time, the SES said the river was sitting at 2.63 metres and falling.
Superintendent Joshua Clark, the deputy zone commander for the NSW SES western zone, said there was no threat of further flooding in Bathurst for the foreseeable future.
"The weather system has moved away," he said.
"Some areas [of the state] may see showers today. Across Bathurst, the Central West, we're fine today, and the next weather system will probably start to maybe come across again towards the end of next week."
Crews kept busy
SES crews were out and about in Bathurst on Saturday night and Sunday morning keeping an eye on the situation and during that time responded to four jobs.
Supt Clark said they were primarily welfare checks, which were conducted at properties close to the Macquarie River.
Thankfully, there were no flood rescues.
"That means that people made safe and informed decisions not to enter or drive in flood waters they may have come across," Supt Clark said.
While there were just a handful of jobs for the SES on Saturday night and Sunday morning, there were numerous calls for assistance on Friday, April 5 and into Saturday.
In the 24 hours to 9am Saturday morning, 36.2mm of rain was recorded at Bathurst Airport, while other parts of the region received even more.
That resulted in around 56 jobs for the SES to respond to, which Supt Clark said included sandbagging, leaking roofs, and damaged trees.
The days ahead
The weather is expected to clear in Bathurst, with mostly sunny days forecast through to Saturday, April 13.
The only exception to that is Tuesday, April 9, where there is an 80 per cent chance of rain, which could see up to 6mm recorded in rain gauges.
For April so far, 56.8mm of rain has been recorded at the airport, which is about 6mm more than was received in the entire month in 2023.
Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
