The MidCoast Council Local Government Area is 10,000 square kilometres with a population over 100,000 people. In May 2025, the Manning River broke every record in living memory trumping the 2021 floods.
What began as persistent rainfall evolved into a catastrophic flood that exceeded the 0.2% AEP level, which is consistent with a one-in-five-hundred-year event. This storm event was a test of endurance for every operator, technician and engineer responsible for keeping water flowing and sewer systems functioning.
The challenge was enormous. Around 80% of the population relies on the Manning Water Scheme and there was significant disruption to water and sewer assets.
When the trunk main crossing between Bootawa Water Treatment Plant and the town of Wingham failed, the northern network was effectively cut off. Wingham’s reservoirs began to fall as operators worked around the clock to maintain supply by manually operating valves and pumping water from Taree.
Emergency plans were activated. Bottled water was distributed to households by Council staff and water carts delivered water to the hospital to guarantee their supply. More than 22,000 bottles were handed out in five days, while field crews navigated damaged roads and flood-isolated communities.
Water bottles for impacted customers.
Below ground, the situation was no easier. Nearly half of Taree and Wingham’s sewer pump stations went offline at the height of the flood. Operators rewired switchboards, manually refuelled generators and even modified programmable logic controller (PLC) code remotely to keep sewage transferring to treatment plants.
Spare boards were swapped from water depots and isolated teams made repairs in waist-deep water to keep systems operational. Every small decision mattered, each one protecting public health during one of the most intense natural disasters in the region’s history.
The Wingham Sewage Treatment Plant was completely submerged. Within a week, operators had drained, cleaned and recommissioned the plant’s secondary treatment process.
Wingham Sewage Treatment Plant
The commitment to restoration wasn’t just about infrastructure, it was about community and ensuring safe water and sanitation for thousands of people relying on these systems, even when their operators were displaced from their own homes.
Through it all, staff worked long hours under extraordinary conditions. They adapted, improvised and delivered outcomes that few outside the industry will ever see. This is the reality of regional water management where skill, local knowledge and commitment keep communities running when the system itself is under threat.