Storms provide multiple challenges for council maintenance
15 January 2024
Ipswich City Council has issued an appeal for patience as ongoing summer storms and rain wreak havoc on council’s maintenance schedule.
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Chair Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding explained council is experiencing a number of challenges in maintaining public green spaces including mowing more than 550 parks and sports fields.
“Council’s maintenance teams have been facing a series of challenges in recent weeks as adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events have impacted our ability to maintain our regular schedule,” Mayor Harding said.
"We've had severe storms over the Christmas period and flash flooding in the Camira and Springfield areas which saw work crews diverted to deal with the aftermath of that extreme event and tree/debris removal across a large part of the region.
“This has diverted resources away from regular grass mowing duties and I know the community will understand that we had to prioritise our residents in need.
“The open space maintenance team mow about 43,732 acres per years which is equivalent to 5893 Suncorp Stadiums, and that doesn’t include urban footpaths and drainage channels which are considerably more.
“Thank you for showing patience given these current conditions. Council’s maintenance teams are now working longer hours and weekends to ensure our maintenance schedule is back on track.”
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Deputy Chairperson Councillor Paul Tully said the conditions had also restricted access to some sites making it unsafe for the teams to carry out their work.
"Attempting to mow waterlogged parks, ovals or sportsgrounds could cause damage to those grounds or put staff at risk of injury," Cr Tully said.
“Wet and humid weather provide optimum growing conditions at this time of year across Queensland, so our teams already had a large workload ahead of the storms.
“Despite these obstacles our dedicated teams are working tirelessly to ensure that our public green spaces are well-maintained and safe for the community to enjoy. All available resources are being utilised to address these unforeseen challenges.”
Council’s Mowing Schedule Map is at https://maps.ipswich.qld.gov.au/mowing.