MUSWELLBROOK Shire Council’s bid to save money, and help the environment, has hit a road block.
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In February, council installed 108 solar panels (approximately 40kW) at the Denman Sewer Treatment Plant.
But, it wasn’t long before there was an incident.
Vandals smashed five panels, leaving a repair cost of $3,000 in their wake.
A couple of months later, in May, breaks appeared on 14 panels – at a cost of $9,500.
Waste reuse and environment operations manager John Wisniewski said it was “very disappointing”.
“At the end of the day, it’s the community’s money that’s being wasted,” he said.
“Once they’re broken they don’t function.
“They are typically connected in a chain or string.
“With 10 connected, it you break one of those, the 10 aren’t working.”
Since the disruption, council has installed CCTV cameras as a general security measure.
Not solely in response to the vandalism, it is anticipated the cameras will provide surveillance for the plant’s equipment as a whole.
Mr Wisniewski said there had been episodes since, and encouraged the town to be watchful and aware.
“I think it’s just [about] trying to create awareness in community,” he said
“It’s a small community, likely someone knows something.”
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.