Heatwave forecasts in early January meant there was no easing into 2026 for Victoria. A slew of extreme temperatures led to a bushfire that started on 9 January and tore through Ravenswood South, Harcourt, and Sutton Grange, with Harcourt evacuated and without power, communications or safe drinking water. Such a situation needs a response from multiple utilities, including water.
Coliban Water Managing Director Damian Wells said early preparation and an attitude of ‘hit it hard, hit it early’ meant that when the bushfire impacted drinking water, the organisation’s incident team was in position to respond quickly when issues arose.
“We stood ready as a team to ensure our operations were prepared for the run of extreme heat and high fire danger days,” he said.
“We know those sorts of extreme weather forecasts will put strain on our customers and the drinking water network they rely on.”
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Starting the Harcourt bushfire response
As staff returned from the Christmas break, resources were dedicated to proactively monitoring our water treatment plants, storage facilities, and networks to ensure a steady flow in the region.
“Our Operations Centre is still relatively new, but it has already proved invaluable in ensuring we maintain visibility to current and emerging operational issues,” Mr Wells said.
“The monitoring completed by the crew throughout January allowed us to ensure network performances through the night, not only replenish our storage but also allow our plants to recover.”
Extreme weather will almost inevitably impact water and sewer services in some way, as it did when the bushfire impacted Harcourt’s drinking water network.
“The Harcourt fire led to 54 homes being destroyed. As well as the impact on drinking water, the community battled with impacts to critical telecommunications infrastructure,” Mr Wells said.
“Many Harcourt rural customers suffered significant on-farm losses with apple orchards, vineyards and other crop types fully or partially destroyed along with on-farm infrastructure.
This resulted in Coliban Water issuing a Do Not Drink Advisory in Harcourt on Saturday, 10 January, following significant impacts to assets in urban and rural water networks, including the Coliban Main Channel.
“Our incident teams take on a ‘hit it hard, hit it early’ approach to create solutions and communicate early and often to all stakeholders,” Mr Wells said.
“Through the heat wave and resulting fires in central Victoria, which impacted our drinking water network and resulted in us having our own incident team operating to inform and support the community while working to repair issues.”
Emergency management key for Coliban Water
The Coliban Water response included having an Emergency Response Liaison Officer (EMLO) present at the Regional Incident Control Centre, regular updates for the Board of Directors, and, when safe to do so, sending staff into Harcourt to provide residents with drinking water and assess infrastructure damage.
“Our whole company is kept up to date – from the Board of Directors to the staff, who keep other parts of the business operating as usual,” Mr Wells said.
“Incident rooms operate at a heightened tempo, which can affect our staff. As well as looking out for our customers, we manage rosters and fatigue to care for our people as best we can.
“We can’t serve our community without everyone pulling in the right direction. Thanks to our team’s professionalism and excellence – we worked as one.”
As the fire came under control and the evacuated community of Harcourt looked to return, Coliban Water maintained a strong on-the-ground presence in fire-affected communities.
“Working with the CFA to ensure safe access, we set up three drinking water trailers, had staff ready to support residents at community hubs and published timely and accurate information via multiple channels.”
Harcourt bushfire response result of teamwork
Coliban Water restored water to Harcourt homes by Wednesday, 14 January, and lifted the Do Not Drink Advisory on Saturday, 17 January – eight days after the major fire.
“This was only possible through focused and committed teamwork across Coliban Water and our contractors,” Mr Wells said.
“The work isn’t finished. We continue to support the community with ongoing repairs and coordination of a Drinking Water replenishment program for people in the area who are solely reliant on their rainwater tank for drinking water.”
For more information on the Harcourt Recovery, visit https://connect.coliban.com.au/harcourt