Getting water to Grawin?
Residents at Grawin have signed a petition calling for urgent changes to the area’s water supply, including improved access and fire-fighting capabilities.
So far, a total of 125 signatures have been collected for the attention of Walgett Shire Council.
Grawin Opal miner Paul Stewart, who has lived there for 35 years, was instrumental in starting the petitions.
“We’re ratepayers as well as leaseholders and should be treated the same as any other town in Walgett Shire,” Mr Stewart said.
“What motivated me to start the petition is that we need a better water system – during the 2000 drought, the government would bring water out for drinking water and during the last big drought, they didn’t do a thing.
“The tanks are still here but mostly perished, old and brittle. When I spoke to council about our situation they said, ‘you’ve got a bore out there.’ Well, I’m not going to drive nine kilometres for a drink of bore water. From there, we decided on a petition.”
Mr Stewart said the issue wasn’t only about accessing drinking water, it was also about being prepared for a fire emergency, such as Grawin was exposed to last year.
In November 2023, the Grawin experienced its worst fire in 70 years, one person died, and multiple homes and camps were destroyed.
“During that fire there was all sorts of issues,” Mr Stewart said. “The bore had a stop switch at 800 litres and the guys were trying to fill tankers which took hours. It was ridiculous.”
While the bore has now been equipped with an overhead fill, there is much more that is needed to be done according to residents.
A copy of the water petition was held at the Grawin Shop and manager, Lynette Hardwick, said the community was right behind it.
“Had the fire come the way it was expected, we wouldn’t have had any water on this side of the field. If we have another fire like that there could be a lot of homes lost, and worse,” Ms Hardwick said.
“When they first put the bore down, we had a meeting at the Club in the Scrub, and the bore’s location was chosen by council because it’s the highest point. The community was led to believe the bore was going near the Glengarry Hilton, and water could be fed over to us and to the Sheepyards and that’s never happened.”
Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve manager David Sullivan is also on board with the community’s point of view. […]
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