Major works to reduce the dangers posed by the South Dubbo weir are still another 18 months away.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dubbo City Council this week committed to a $4.4 million safety project, aiming to have construction completed by the summer of 2015-16.
It adopted the concepts of a rockfill ramp and fishway, and orders to find the funding to build them, as it received advice that the design and approvals process was "not likely" to happen quickly.
The council's decision came almost 2 years after a young man was killed at the weir, the second death there in less than four years.
The family of James Kennedy, 19, has been looking to ensure safety is improved at the structure, the scene of his death on October 30, 2011.
Mr Kennedy jumped in the river to save his dog but was dragged under by the current created by the weir.
An inquest into his death was adjourned in November to allow the council to assess recommendations of a study of weir safety it sponsored, which had been held in September.
As a result of those assessments technical services director Stewart McLeod this week recommended the council commit to the construction of the rockfill ramp option "as soon as practicably achievable".
The construction of a fishway was estimated to take costs from about $2 million to the $4 million mark, but the director advised that the project was likely to trigger state legislation that required the inclusion.
Mr McLeod warned the work could not happen instantly, and the project would need to proceed smoothly if it was to meet the summer of 2015-2016 target.
"As previously advised the design and approvals process for filling the riverbed below the weir with large rocks is not likely to be a fast process," he said.
"...In a best case scenario, preconstruction could be completed by early in... 2015 allowing tenders to be called around March.
"Winter time is much preferred for construction because of the lower river flows when irrigators are not watering crops.
"Ideally construction could be well advanced by the summer of 2015-2016, but this will require every step in the process to occur optimally."
The director intended to draw up a budget for the rockfill ramp and fishway with $2.82 million to be funded by the council and $1.58 million by grants.
He said it was important to "lobby hard for grant funding to this extent", but that once the council committed, it would "need to proceed on time irrespective of the actual quantum of grants received during the 2014-15 period".
His recommendation that next summer the council repeat its public awareness campaign about the dangers of the weir was also adopted.