Lithgow City Council has been forced to set up makeshift shower facilities at local parks due to a gas outage which could leave the LGA’s 20,000 residents without gas for cooking and heating for up to a month.
Service NSW says a broken gas pipeline caused by floodwater damage south of Bathurst is the culprit.
The gas failure, which is affecting the entirety of Lithgow, is expected to last for some time, Council said in a statement.
“Staff have been working hard to make temporary shower facilities available for the public during the gas outage,” it said.
Council is making available free, temporary hot shower facilities at several locations across the LGA.
Forty showers have been set up at Tony Luchetti Showground, with gas and water connected to 12 cubicles from Saturday and more expected to be connected this week.
A further 15 showers have been made available at various recreation areas in the LGA.
“Lithgow City Council continues to make every effort to work with government and the private sector to anticipate the needs of the community”, said Mayor, Maree Statham.
“We continue to press for better communication from APA and Jemena to afford our community the chance to make informed decisions as early as possible.”
In a statement, Service NSW said the outage was being investigated.
“There is a current and ongoing gas supply outage impacting the areas of Bathurst, Lithgow, Oberon and Wallerawang. This event commenced on 2 November and is being investigated.”
“This is a local but large-scale, significant interruption to the supply of gas hampered by local flooding events,” it said.
Lithgow, along with Oberon and Wallerawang is expected to be without gas for up to a month, while the city of Bathurst is expected to remain disconnected for around a week.