Council hits the brakes on flood maps

Mayor Cheryl Cook said she understood that residents had a lot of concerns about the implications of the new Flood Study.

“I want to assure our community that while the Flood Study provides us with valuable new information, the existing flood maps in our 2012 LEP will be the current guide for land use and development decisions until further work is completed,” Cr Cook said.

Council chambers were crammed with people spilling out into the public areas on Tuesday.

Their message was simple; rescind the Corowa, Howlong Mulwala Flood Study, investigate the data they believed to be flawed, and replace it with actual data to give a true indication of water levels.

Former Corowa councillor, Peter Seeligier spoke on behalf of the residents of Mulwala, farmers and the business community.

“This study is so flawed, there is no other option than to reverse the building regulations with revised floor heights,” Mr Seeliger told the meeting.

“Data has never been anything like what they say could happen.

“No-one has ever witnessed it in 160 years of recorded history.

“The perceived flood level is not an actual level but an assumption, and that assumption is really hurting the people of Mulwala and the builders.”

Due to the seriousness of the issue and Mr Seeliger being the sole speaker, he was allowed more than the five minutes normally allocated in a public forum.

“For the sake of our communities, rethink this disastrous report and use actual and verified data,” he said.

The extraordinary meeting following the public forum had been recommended to be held in a closed session, however it was decided to keep the meeting open to the public.

Cr David Harrison told the meeting that stakeholders, Goulburn-Murray Water and Murray Darling Basin Authority were notable by their absence at the meeting.

“River managers have the ability to forecast flood events and take action … to predict inflows and open weir gates accordingly,” Cr Harrison said.

“There are political inferences as to why dams are kept full and the gates not opened, to maximise water availability, so this study presumes river managers will keep the dams full.

“The elephant in the corner is that keeping the dams full to maximise water availability is overriding the concerns of Mulwala residents.”

The strong feeling among councillors was that changing state government legislation, the policy driver for controlling dam operations, was the way forward.

“We have four dams that can be regulated on major tributaries into the Murray, which can be used for flood mitigation,” Cr Derek Shoen said.

“We get warning here, but it will never happen while this legislation remains in place; dam operators follow the regulations.

“We need the legislation to be changed, not just here, but in other communities with dams above their towns.”

Cr Cook said the steps taken while all options for mitigation were explored would ensure that current development was not impacted.

“Even though Council will be using the old flood maps for now, Council will still look closely at the findings of the new Flood Study when reviewing any new development applications,” she said.

“This will ensure that any new buildings or projects are suitable for the location and consider the potential flood risks highlighted in the study.”

Federation Council will shortly announce the successful tenderer to undertake the Flood Risk Management Study and Plan, which will guide the next steps.

General manager, Adrian Butler said the Council would be calling for community involvement in the Flood Risk Management Committee.

“I encourage the community to stay engaged as we move into the next phase of this project,” he said.

“Local knowledge and community input and engagement for this project is critical.”

Residents are encouraged to contact Council for further information.