Kay Grovenor and her visiting grandchild were faced with horror the day the bushfires hit Harden Murrumburrah on Friday January 13. Not only were they on their own but they basically had no water to protect themselves against the fire. The predicament Kay found herself in has come about because Hilltops Council and the former Harden Shire Council have lacked compassion. The long running water issue dates back to the Harden Shire days, during the time of the local abattoir. The issue arose when the abattoir closed of an afternoon each weekday and the massive water pressure would be released in to the network, inundating Kay and her sytem with water. This issue was continually reported to council at the time. A worker checked it out and after putting a shut down valve on, it continued to happen periodically. The pressure issues were worse on the weekends when the abattoir was not in operation. Other residents of Aurville experienced similar problems.

After spending time at Randwick Hospital with Luke Cotter, the young man Kay cared for, for many years, they returned one weekend to find their yard flooded, troughs with all the floats blown and paddocks covered in water. To make matters worse, water was running down the walls of the inside of Kay’s house under her solar hot water system which had exploded from the force of the water. As Kay was unable to pay for insurance she was faced with a $5,500 bill for a new system. Something that Harden Shire may be liable for. According to Kay, HSC indoor staff visited and checked out the water pressure, she said “They said it was fine but then organised for a reducer to be put on.” One must question, was it fine and if so, why was a reducer put on it? Is someone admitting that there may have been a problem? According to Kay she has continually asked for her current water usage bill without the extra charges from the Shire’s faulty equipment.

She has been taken to court on numerous occasions by the Council and at last count was told she was up for $16,000 in water charges, an amount she would never be able to pay on a Newstart pension, when she actually receives it. She said she made representations to the Counciln a couple of years ago during the debacle. According to Kay, a Councillor visited for a photo opportunity with her and Luke which appeared in the Harden Express. She said his reply was, “I will look into it”, but Kay said she is yet to hear back from him. Kay’s meter was adjusted again soon after Luke passed away last year with a lock being put on it, which allows only a trickle into the house, making it almost impossible to even have a shower. In the face of the fire Kay panicked which brought on an episode with her heart. She was concerned for her house, horses and daughter’s car because she couldn’t get more than a trickle from her hose. A tragedy may have occurred but for a wind change. She wishes to thank Trent and Wally who assisted her until she was taken to hospital by ambulance.

It’s interesting to note that Kay has given around half of her life to ensuring that Luke had a good quality of life. He suffered from Maternally Inherited Miopathy and Cardiomyopathy related to MND which also caused seizures confining him to a wheelchair and breathing apparatus. Kay slept in a chair beside him for 15 years to rescue him from imminent death when his alarms went off which they inevitably did. She in turn suffers from Cardio-Vascular Disease, Osteoarthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis. She is in need of surgery for her back and hips and walks with the aid of a walker. She is reliant on constant medication to survive each day. Surely in this day and age Kay’s water supply could be restored and fees, real, or imagined could be waived. All that is needed is a flick of the pen. It has happened before. Landholders have in the past had large-scale water bills waived by Harden Shire Council, claiming they had no knowledge of broken pipes and water wastage on their property. It is time the advisory committee actually did something and took this matter to the Administrator. Society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. Will we need a tragedy to bring about change? We hope not.