Central Coast Council has recently installed new water tanks at Matcham and Mount Elliot as part of an initiative to help fight fires in areas of the Central Coast without access to town water.

The Central Coast now has eight strategically placed water tanks in four separate locations to significantly reduce the time it takes to transport water during a fire.

Acting Council Director Environment and Planning, Jamie Loader said the tanks help Council to better serve community members in rural locations during emergency events.

“It is critical that Rural Fire Brigades can access water quickly and get on with the job of fighting fires and keeping our community safe,” Mr Loader said.

“These tanks mean that it is no longer necessary for trucks to travel significant distances to refill when fighting fires in these locations – a process that could take more than 30 minutes.”

“We worked closely with the NSW Rural Fire Service and the Bush Fire Management Committee to identify high risk locations without access to the town water supply.

“This project is a great example of Council collaborating to deliver a great outcome for the Central Coast community.”

Mr Loader said each of the 35,000 litre tanks is filled and ready for use during an emergency.

“Residents in Matcham, Mount Elliot, Holgate and Dooralong can now be confident local Rural Fire Brigades can access water quickly to fight fires in these locations.

“Each set of tanks can provide enough water for at least 20 firefighting tanker loads of water during an emergency.”

Council will continue to work with the NSW Rural Fire Service and the Bush Fire Management Committee to identify further possible sites across the region.