$10k community resilience grant on the cards

SOUTH Gippsland Water (SGW) is exploring ways to give back after its recent Inverloch Boil Water Alert, with a proposed $10k community resilience grant.

In March this year, SGW issued a precautionary Boil Water Advisory for the township of Inverloch. 

Two deceased birds and sediment were discovered in the Inverloch supply.

At the time, SGW stated the presence of the birds may have indicated some contamination.

This meant that for a period of five days, customers needed to boil their water before drinking and using water in food preparation.

This incident impacted customers to varying degrees, dependant on individual circumstances, with some of our more vulnerable community members more at risk than others. 

South Gippsland Water has reviewed the incident and their response and as a part of continuous improvement, will be making a number of improvements to systems and processes. 

Managing director of South Gippsland Water, Philippe du Plessis said, “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by the boil water advisory, that’s why we are proposing that the organisation ‘give back’ to the Inverloch community.”

“We are proposing that an Inverloch Community Resilience Grant of $10,000 be
established in response to this incident. 

“The particulars of who might receive grant monies and how it might be administered are yet to be detailed, but the organisation is committed to working to help build community resilience in response to future incidents or emergencies.”

The Corporation is also exploring, as part of its five-year plan 2023-2028, whether such a grant should be a part of our Guaranteed Service Levels, that the organisation would administer a grant for another town should a similar incident occur elsewhere in future. 

If you are interested in participating in this discussion, or want your thoughts heard in the establishment of the resilience grant for Inverloch, please email media@sgwater.com.au to register your interest.