City of Marion busy cutting the green, green grass near homes

Wet and warm spring weather has led to abundant grass growth in reserves and along the road verges in the City of Marion, but ongoing rainy conditions are causing delays in the council’s mowing schedules and contracted weed spraying programs.

The City of Marion manages around 900km of road verges and 3.2 million square metres (320 hectares) of open space, including more than 260 reserves.

Council has brought forward its next round of contracted weed spraying and its 11-member reserve maintenance team and tractor-slasher contractors are working to capacity to keep on top of overgrown vegetation.

Sporting facilities in the City of Marion are maintained by contractors.

Persistent rain and boggy ground conditions are having an impact on maintenance schedules.

Mowing wet grass is not recommended and weeds cannot be sprayed in rainy conditions.

Council will not use mowing equipment where ground conditions are steep and slippery and where heavy machinery can cause wheel ruts and deep holes in the ground.

The reserve maintenance team services more than 100 reserves every fortnight.

If a reserve is deemed too wet to mow, the team will move on to a more suitable site but that might mean that the space misses a trim by a week or a fortnight.

Green vegetation is not deemed to be a fire risk. The Fire Danger Season usually begins on December 1 every year dependent on the declaration of the Country Fire Service (CFS).

The City of Marion has a community safety inspector responsible for assessing the fire risk and fire prevention measures on council-owned land. Council also has accredited Fire Prevention Officers who manage and assess fire risk on private properties.

Nearly 630 letters were recently sent to private properties within the City of Marion providing them with a reminder to have their blocks cleared and ready for Fire Danger Season.

The CFS recommend that undergrowth be slashed and maintained to a maximum height of no more than 100mm.

More information about block clearing and fire prevention is available on council’s website Fire Prevention | City of Marion

Residents can report overgrown vegetation on both Council and private land on the City of Marion’s online portal Login (marion.sa.gov.au)