Walka Water Works’ popular walking and running tracks will reopen to the public from next week.
The entire 64 hectare site in Maitland has been closed since February when widespread asbestos contamination was discovered that posed a risk to the community.
From Monday December 5, a staged re-opening will begin with the trails and toilet block. Access for vehicles will be restored via Scobies Lane, while pedestrians will be able to enter from Pumphouse Road.
Opening hours will remain as 7.00am – 7.00pm during daylight savings, and 7.00am – 5.00pm otherwise.
The rest of the site remains off-limits until remediation is complete, and there may be temporary closures in the future to facilitate the work.
Some areas have been capped, while fencing and signage has also been installed to mitigate the risk for returning visitors. Asbestos air monitoring will also be in place for the first week and during any future remediation or grounds maintenance within the restricted areas.
General Manager, David Evans thanked the community for their patience while Council and Crown Lands undertook the necessary work to make Walka safe again.
“It’s been a long road to get back to a position where we can safely reopen parts of Walka to the community,” Mr Evans said.
“It’ll be great to see some of our community groups return to the site too, and I know that there’ll be a few hundred Parkrunners keen to hit the ground running.”
The initial reopening was delayed from November after Council ran into longer than anticipated lead times for materials and several unexpected urgent repairs. One of those included fixing a well-trafficked footbridge over the spillway on the eastern boundary to allow access, after the decking was found to have rotted.
Mr Evans said remediation of the wider site continued, and Council would keep the community informed of the progress of those works.
“We’re exploring every opportunity to expedite the remediation and working closely with Crown Lands to do it.”