Some properties in Melton could be affected by tumbleweeds in the coming weeks.
Residents may recall how strong winds swept dried weeds into people’s yards and onto roads in parts of Aintree, Eynesbury and Hillside in late 2020 and 2021.
Melton council is warning residents that as drier, warmer days become more frequent, a similar tumbleweed event may occur in December and January.
Council said the weeds that may cause this issue would come from larger private properties with substantial overgrowth and are not from council reserves.
Council said is has been working with private property owners to help ensure they complete works to control weeds like serrated tussock on their properties and reduce the likelihood of such an event.
Melton mayor Kathy Majdlik said “We have been working diligently with property owners to get their properties cleared of weeds and we are doing everything we can to help minimise any tumbleweed event”.
“If there is a significant tumbleweed storm, council has a range of solutions in place to provide support with the clean-up.’’
Subject to the scale of the tumbleweed storm, council will provide a range of services to assist residents.
The scale of council’s assistance will be determined by an Emergency Response Team.
Assistance that may include the removal of road hazards, additional waste collection in affected areas or free drop offs of the seed material at Melton Recycling Facility.
In the case of a large-scale event that affects more than 30 properties within a suburb/locality, council may deploy a specialist vacuum truck to assist with tumbleweed removal.
To assist with the clean-up, residents can place bagged tumbleweed material in their gneral wste (red) bin.
For notification of council’s response to a tumbleweed event and assistance that is being provided, updates can be found online or by contacting customer service.
Details: www.melton.vic.gov.au/tumbleweeds or 9747 7200.
