Mayor Joyce McCulloch is slamming the irresponsible and thoughtless actions of individuals who have caused an estimated $150,000 worth of damage to the Pamela Street Hill reservoir and set the construction project back by as much as three months.
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Between the afternoon of Saturday, June 15, and the morning of Monday, June 17, offenders threw many heavy rocks at the reservoir, causing significant damage to at least 18 panels, and vandalised several other panels with mastic adhesive stolen from elsewhere on the site.
"This vandalism is extremely disappointing and heart-breaking to see, and the fact that, in the worst-case scenario it will cost up to $150,000 to repair, and also substantially delay a project that was just a few weeks away from completion, compounds the senselessness of these people's actions," Cr McCulloch said.
"Some of those damaged panels were at the bottom of the reservoir structure and will therefore likely need to be replaced, due to structural-integrity issues.
"The replacement panels will have to be specially manufactured in the UK and shipped over, before being sent by road from Brisbane, so it would be at least a two-month delay, if not longer."
Contractors will need to carry out non-destructive testing on the reservoir to ascertain what the level of damage is.
Contractors arrived on-site on Monday morning to find an on-site crane also broken into and damaged and several items stolen from it.
The project value is priced at $1.6 million and is equally funded by Council and the State Government.
CCTV footage from the on-site security camera will be given to police to assist in their investigation.
"I urge anyone who knows anything more about the vandalism done to the reservoir to contact the Mount Isa Police Station on 4744 111," Cr McCulloch said.
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Samantha Campbell
Samantha Campbell (nee Walton) has worked for regional and rural publications across New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. She is currently writing for the North Queensland Register based in North West Queensland. Email: samantha.campbell@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Samantha Campbell (nee Walton) has worked for regional and rural publications across New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. She is currently writing for the North Queensland Register based in North West Queensland. Email: samantha.campbell@austcommunitymedia.com.au
