Brown ovals, water stained floors, dead fish in change rooms and damage that will take a number of weeks to repair.
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That is just some of what is emerging as the Edward River at Deniliquin gets ever closer to receding below moderate flood level.
The Edward was yesterday sitting at 7.26m and dropping, just 6cm above the moderate flooding trigger.
While there is still some standing water at some of the town’s recreational facilities, the water has dropped enough that committees can get in to assess the damage.
But now begins the process of determining exactly what will need repairing before user groups can return ‘home’.
The flood gates which have severed access to Memorial Park, the Deniliquin Golf Club and Deni Golf Resort and the Murray Valley Regional Park since late October was removed this week.
And while users were expecting to find significant damage after weeks of flooding, some of the discoveries have still been surprising.
At the Deniliquin Rovers Football Netball Club, committee members have reported dead fish and shrimp in the change rooms, a dead rabbit on the verandah and dead ducks on the oval and caught in boundary fencing.
Some of the fencing has fallen over and a small fridge from the change rooms was found floating and beyond repair.
The clubroom itself, as it is elevated, is unaffected, but the plumbing and electrical work underneath is yet to be fully assessed.
The structural integrity of the netball courts is also yet to be assessed, which cannot be done until the subsurface has dried out.
The oval seems relatively unscathed, already green again and providing much needed relief for kangaroos.
The same cannot be said for the Deni Rhinos’ number three oval, which is brown.
Rhinos secretary/treasurer Brad Todd said the oval will “need a fair bit of remedial work to get it back to a playable condition”.
“Our pitch will need a good cut and scarify to remove a lot of the silt and dead grass,” he said.
“Hopefully we can get a decent cut on it in the next week or so and then a good scarify, then get some fertiliser and water into it to try and bring it back as best we can.
“The white picket fence isn't too white anymore, so that will need a really good pressure wash to restore it back to what it was.
“On a positive note, the number one and two ovals look like there isn't too much damage and the outfield looks okay from a distance, so we should be able to get some home games in this year.
“The cricket nets will need some major work to some parts of the synthetic, as it has come loose in spots.
“These will need a good pressure wash as well, to see whether we can salvage it or whether we need the synthetic surface to be re-done.”
As for the new Rhinos clubrooms, Mr Todd said more investigation would be needed.
Only a few members, which does not include Mr Todd, have managed to get inside for a look so far.
“The new change rooms were inundated with water as well, and they will need a good pressure wash to clean the floors.
“I didn't know what to expect from the floods, but with the ground being under for almost two months we didn't expect it to be great once the flood water receded.”
At the neighbouring Deniliquin Golf Club, the repair bill has been conservatively estimated at “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.
The front 12 holes are expected to still be unplayable for a number of weeks.
A ‘Flood Recovery Fund’ has been started by the golf club, which will require member, community and government input to cover the damage costs.
Golf Club secretary/manager Kathy Simpson said the two biggest impacts of the floods has been on the potential to earn income, estimated at a minimum of $130,000 in losses, and damage to the course and other infrastructure.
“We don’t have a completely clear view of the entire course as yet, as some parts still do have water lying on them,” she said.
“It is an unknown quantity until you can assess it all. We need to wait for sun to get on the grass and see if some will come good.
“There are bunkers that have been completely washed away and greens that will need replacing.
“There will also be trees that need removing, fences to be fixed and a general tidy up.
“It may possibly take until after Christmas for works to start on the course after a full assessment can be made.”
On inspection on Wednesday, Mrs Simpson said the clubhouse itself had escaped inundation, which she said was a “huge relief”.
“Water did go under the clubhouse, but hopefully there will be no lasting damage.”
Because the clubhouse was untouched, it will be open for its usual Friday night activities tonight. See more in Off The Tee on page 26.
Edward River Council staff will be working on assessing flood impacts over the coming weeks, working with user groups, business owners and residents as required.
Council’s director infrastructure Mark Dalzell said the aim is to get everyone operational again as soon as possible.
He said a plan for this would be determined by the outcome of pending assessments.
“There has been a lot of damage to areas in the Memorial Park area, especially fencing,” he said.
“I don’t think this is worse than expected, but it is an impact on getting the area back up and running.
“We are currently assessing these impacts and working out the plan to undertake the works.
“We will work with the groups to try and get them operational as soon as possible.”
Mr Dalzell said given the extent and length of flood inundation, roads that are now out of floodwaters have fared better than anticipated.
Significant repairs will still be required, for which council has already been allocated $549,015 from the NSW Government’s Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round.
“Whilst there has been impact on the roadwork, I feel that the network has preformed well over the flooding and storms over the past three months,” Mr Dalzell said.
“We have been able to keep roads open longer than expected and support freight movements in the region during this time.
“We are still undertaking inspections and have portions of the road network under water.
“The general plan for emergency works will be to undertake the works as roads become free of flood water.
“Roads that we will prioritise are the regional roads between towns and villages, mainly Pretty Pine Road, and those roads where properties have been cut-off.”