Australia's highest snow resort will truck in newly fabricated, containerised equipment over the next four weeks to solve its sewage treatment problems, with the goal of opening for the coming season on July 5, almost a month after the other Snowy Mountains resorts.
The projected reopening date will allow Charlotte Pass to take advantage of the NSW school holidays, when the resorts are generally at peak visitor capacity.
However, the reopening and the lifts running also will depend on snowfalls in the weeks ahead.
The sewage treatment plant at Charlotte Pass snow resort, owned by the Blyton Group which also owns and operates the Mt Selwyn snow resort, was extensively damaged by fire on May 17. It has been closed since and the season outlook had been uncertain.
However, an effluent treatment expert is understood to have visited Charlotte Pass on Friday and provided guidance to the company on its options.
The chosen plan was to have a specialist Victorian water solutions company AKS Industries fabricate bespoke containerised equipment to provide the necessary electrical, aeration, disinfection and treatment processes.
Blyton did not reveal the cost of the project.
It will be a massive build task for the AKS wastewater team to fabricate, transport over the potentially snow-covered Charlotte Way access road and to install the equipment within the tight timeframe required.
The complexity of the task will be compounded by the wintry conditions in the mountains, which demands equipment capable of handling consistent sub-zero temperatures.
The resort's general manager, Angela Murdoch, expressed her appreciation to AKS Industries for agreeing to undertake the project.
"The task that AKS Industries has committed to is a mammoth one, with the construction work expected to be completed within a 31-day window," she said.
"The construction of these types of services would typically take several months."
Lifts are scheduled to start spinning on July 5 subject to snow conditions, with guest arrivals for overnight accommodation starting the same day.
Guests with bookings for prior to this date will be offered the opportunity to transfer their dates to later in the 2024 snow season, defer their booking to the 2025 snow season, or receive a refund.
The proposal for restoration of temporary services has received the in-principal support of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure and the NSW Environmental Protection Agency.
No public access will be available to Charlotte Pass village until the opening of the resort on Friday, 5th July.
