Hawkesbury City Council is facing a fresh wave of community outrage after it refused to release a report into why a major sewer pipeline—Rising Main C—took so long to repair, racking up millions of dollars in emergency cartage costs and ending in a failed legal case costing approximately $40 million, about half the annual rate collection and which residents are now paying for.

At its 22 July 2025 meeting, councillors voted to discuss the matter in private, citing Section 10A(2)(a) of the Local Government Act 1993. This clause allows meetings to be closed if the information “relates to personnel matters concerning particular individuals (other than councillors)” and is deemed “contrary to the public interest” to disclose.

The decision means ratepayers will not be told who, if anyone, within Council is responsible for the delays or the legal defeat, despite the fact they are footing the bill, having to make loan repayments on $32 million borrowed to cover the cost of the debacles.

A Flawed Report

Council has branded its investigation into Rising Main C “independent,” but critics say that claim is misleading. The investigator was appointed by the General Manager, meaning the process was not at arm’s length from the organisation at the centre of the controversy.

Councillors who have spoken privately say the report failed to answer the questions they posed, and instead simply confirmed what everyone already knew—that the pipe needed to be fixed.

Better information, they argue, is available from the NSW Supreme Court judgment of 17 August 2023, when Council was defeated in its attempt to avoid paying the contractor engaged to repair the pipe.

The Court ruling exposed serious flaws in how the project was managed:

“On 31 March 2022, the Council and TCE entered into a construction contract by which TCE agreed to design and construct urgent repair works to a broken sewer line that serviced the township of Windsor, New South Wales. The contract price was described as ‘Cost + 25%.’ The day after the contract was signed, TCE provided the Council with a schedule setting out the rates that would be charged for persons working on the job and for plant and equipment used on the job.”

The failure to agree on a fee schedule before signing left Council liable for open-ended costs, with the contractor free to determine how long the work would take and how much it would ultimately cost. To this day, the identity of the Council officer who signed the contract is unknown, as is whether any safeguards have since been put in place to prevent a repeat of such costly mistakes.

Community Asks: “Where is the Accountability?”

Residents have expressed anger that the very report commissioned to examine what went wrong is being withheld because it “names names.”

“If staff made mistakes that cost millions, we deserve to know,” said one South Windsor resident. “Otherwise, how can anyone be held to account? What stops it from happening again?”

The repair delay on Rising Main C forced Council to arrange large-scale sewage cartage over an extended period—an operation believed to have cost in the millions—before launching legal action that ultimately failed.

Who Benefits from Secrecy?

Critics say the secrecy benefits only those named in the report, while the public remains in the dark about operational failures in a critical public service.

“Why spend ratepayers’ money on an investigation if you’re going to lock it in a drawer?” asked Bells Line Road Business Council Director Fiona Germaine. “Transparency is the first step towards improvement—without it, all you get is more of the same.”

The “Public Interest” Argument

Councillors were asked to weigh whether releasing the report would cause greater harm than keeping it secret. The majority voted to keep it confidential, arguing that protecting the privacy of individuals involved outweighed the public’s right to know.

That justification has done little to calm community concerns, particularly given Council is simultaneously pushing to sell off its entire sewage network to Sydney Water free of charge—a move some see as sidestepping the need for internal reform.

Calls for an Independent Review

Several residents and local business representatives have now called for an independent investigation into both the Rising Main C incident and Council’s decision to suppress the findings.

“Accountability isn’t optional,” said Windsor business owner Troy Myers. “If mistakes were made, they need to be fixed—and the people who made them should answer for it. Ratepayers have every right to see that process play out in the open.”

For Now: Silence and Debt

For now, the community is left with unanswered questions, an expensive failure, and a closed report that may never see the light of day. With millions already lost and debt repayments locked in for years, residents are asking the question Council has yet to answer:

“Who signed the contract, who was responsible, and what’s been done to make sure this never happens again?”

Key Events in the Rising Main C Saga

December 2021 - Hawkesbury City Council sewage pipe Rising C that feeds sewage from Windsor to McGraths Hill Sewage Treatment works cracks.

31 March 2022 – Hawkesbury City Council signs a “Cost + 25%” contract with TCE to urgently repair Rising Main C, Windsor’s broken sewer pipeline. The fee schedule is not agreed before signing, leaving Council exposed to open-ended costs.

1 April 2022 – The contractor provides a schedule of rates after the contract is signed.

2022–2023 – Council pays millions in emergency sewage cartage as delays continue.

17 August 2023 – NSW Supreme Court ruling: Council loses its case against TCE, which it had attempted not to pay. Judgment highlights poor contract management and confirms Council is liable for costs.

2023–2024 – Council borrows $32.5 million to cover losses. Loan repayments fall on ratepayers.

22 July 2025 – Council votes to keep its internal investigation report confidential, citing “personnel matters.” The report, commissioned by the GM, fails to answer councillors’ key questions.

Now (2025) – Community anger grows as accountability remains absent. Calls mount for a truly independent inquiry.