A tour to mark Local Government Week provided good background about council activities, a participant said.
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Behind the scenes tours kicked off on July 30 with a Port Macquarie-Hastings Council services tour.
The tour visited the Port Macquarie Sewage Treatment Plant, the Kingfisher Waste Transfer Station and the roundabout under construction at the Hastings River Drive and Newport Island Road intersection.
Waste officer Sean McKinnon explained how the Kingfisher Waste Transfer Station worked, sewer attendants Adam Amos and Wayne Ducat outlined the stages of the treatment process and works engineer Chris Favaloro gave tour participants insights into the new roundabout project.
Port Macquarie retiree Bob Pearson said the tour was very informative.
“I’ve only been here just on three years and it was good background to find out about council activities,” he said.
Debra Sallaway has twice been on the water trail tour and approached the council services tour as a chance to learn more about the council.
She said the council services tour was very interesting.
Jenny Kaberry signed up for the tour to learn more about waste management in light of the council’s message about the importance of using the bin system correctly.
Ms Kaberry, who will take the information back to the retirement village where she lives, hopes to tour recycling facilities at Cairncross in the future.
The Kingfisher Waste Transfer Station is a domestic waste facility used by around 52,000 residents who drop off 8000 tonnes of waste each year.
Council group manager Maria Doherty said waste collected at Kingfisher and the council’s three other domestic waste stations was then transported to the Cairncross Waste Management Facility for final processing.
Meanwhile, the Port Macquarie Sewage Treatment Plant is the largest in our region with a capacity to treat raw sewage generated by about 52,000 residents.
Director Alex Fisher said the Port Macquarie sewer network consisted of 84 pumping stations and an extensive network of pipes monitored 24/7 via an electronic monitoring system.
On the road front, the roundabout under construction at the intersection of Hastings River Drive and Newport Island Road is due for completion later this year.
Ms Fisher said the $2.7 million project would result in significant safety improvements for motorists on one of our region’s busiest roads.
Other council tours throughout the week include a Glasshouse tour and water trail tour.