A DISTRICT-wide hard waste collection and irrigation upgrades for two Riverland ovals are among the projects a local council will undertake using $1 million in Federal Government funding.
The Berri Barmera Council has been given the green light to begin nine projects, first proposed in January, as part of the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program.
A second allocation for Renmark Paringa Council of $1 million through the program will also see six proposed community-based projects go ahead.
Berri Barmera CEO Karyn Burton said it was “all systems go” for council staff who had been waiting to receive approval for the projects.
“Our staff have been ready to get going on these projects as soon as we received the funding approval,” she said.
“We have until December 31, 2020, to deliver these projects, and they are quite a diverse range of projects.”
Member for Barker Tony Pasin said Berri Barmera was one of several councils in the region undertaking projects “making a real, direct difference to residents experiencing drought”.
“I’m seeing projects roll out that are increasing local employment, stimulating local economies, and improving services and amenities for our regions,” he said.
“While we can’t make it rain, our Government is supporting our communities in drought.”
Ms Burton said the hard waste collection, set to cost $250,000, was one of the projects most requested by the community.
“We often get asked about a hard waste collection, but it is a very costly project,” she said.
“Having it funded by the Drought Communities Program is really good and allows us to deliver a project everybody wants.
“In the future, we will see if we can do a rolling collection in different parts of the council in different years.”
Ms Burton said irrigation upgrades for both the Berri and Barmera ovals, the replacement of the Monash Adventure Park maze and a reconstruction of the Berri river front swim steps were also set to go ahead.
Nearly $200,000 has been set aside for a series of wellbeing events, though several of the events will have to be modified or rescheduled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The project originally included two national sporting events – an Adelaide Thunderbirds preseason netball match and an Australian Off-Road Championship race – which were both cancelled.
Ms Burton said the council was working with the National Netball League and Motorsport Australia to reschedule the events for later in the year or in 2021.
“The Government have been understanding and have said they would be quite open to looking at our reasons to extend the December 31 deadline if necessary,” she said.
The grant is the second round of funding the council has received as part of the Drought Communities Program, having previously received $1 million for 14 projects in 2019.

Berri Barmera’s drought funded projects
- Barmera VIC toilet upgrades (p