Emerald Cemetery temporarily closed

Update: Emerald cemetery re-opened, 5 September 2019

The Emerald cemetery has been re-opened to public.

The reason for the leak was wear and tear of a sprinkler connection that had been installed more than ten years ago. Council has no scheduled maintenance for that type of activity and sprinklers are replaced on a needs basis. This was the first sprinkler to fail in the system. The water supply to the irrigation system has been turned off and repair has been scheduled to commence when the ground is dry enough to hold machinery required for repair.

Irrigation of the Emerald cemetery with recycled water is permitted under council’s environmental authority. The cemetery is closed to the public at night while irrigation takes place. Irrigation with recycled water is common practice throughout the state with appropriate controls. The recycled water is treated and disinfected and poses no risk to public safety but it’s obviously not suitable for drinking and exposure should be minimised. When the leak in the irrigation system was identified council closed off the area to the public.

Council’s staff take great pride in looking after the region’s cemeteries. This involves staff in council’s offices and parks and gardens crews. It’s one of their day to day tasks they fulfil with great duty of care and where they may encounter situations that require great compassion and care for the community.

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Due to a break in the irrigation line and the use of treated effluent water, please be advised that the Emerald Cemetery will be closed for the next 48 hours.

Signage will be in place.