Have Your Say on Mallee Flood Management
A new Floodplain Management Strategy has been developed for the Mallee, to provide a regional plan, along with a ‘rolling’ three year works program to guide future priorities.
Chair of the Mallee CMA, Ms. Sharyon Peart says the development of the Strategy has been a joint effort, in recognition of the importance of having shared goals that can be applied across the Mallee region.
“The development of the Strategy has been guided by a steering committee, which includes representatives from local government, VicSES, water authorities and the Mallee CMA.
“Each organisation had input into the plan, based on their own experiences during the floods and their aftermath, in 2011 and 2016.”
Key tasks undertaken in the development of the strategy have included:
Community identified risks
Community members and stakeholders were invited to provide input on local flood behaviour, important infrastructure that may be impacted by flooding, and any flood mitigation works that could reduce risks and/or impacts.
Regional risk assessment
A regional flood risk assessment report was prepared, which was used to provide input into the prioritisation of floodplain management activities
Identification of existing flood mitigation strategies:
Steering committee members provided input to identify existing flood mitigation strategies under two main themes: land use planning and flood mitigation infrastructure.
Evaluation of flood risks
Steering committee members evaluated flood risks by considering any existing service levels in place to mitigate flood risks, any gaps in service levels, the priority for consideration and the priority for action over the next three years.
Complementing the Draft Mallee Floodplain Management Strategy is the Regional Work Plan, which will guide the regional priorities for the next three years, including responsibilities and timeframes, across the five Mallee local government areas.
An online survey is available for community members and stakeholders to identify local flood risks.
The Draft Mallee Floodplain Management Strategy can be downloaded from malleecma.com.au.