Five flood study projects within the electorate of Cowper have been funded to help understand and mitigate risk of flooding in this region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The funding of $2,559,733 covers projects in Bellingen, Coffs Harbour and Kempsey.
Bellingen Shire Council received $114,400 for its Lower Bellinger and Kalang Rivers Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan – Stage Two.
The project will develop a flood risk management study and plan following the recently completed Lower Bellinger and Kalang Rivers flood study.
Council’s Deputy General Manager Operations Matt Fanning said this would give Council risk profiles and data to update and implement planning controls and also provide the Council with possible solutions to improve its flood risk management.
“This study will see the recommencement of the Council’s floodplain risk management committee which will oversee these works with representatives from the community, council staff and councillors,” Mr Fanning said.
The funding has been committed by the Federal and NSW State Government as part of the Floodplain Grants Scheme – jointly funded Commonwealth-State National Partnership Agreement on National Disaster Resilience.
“You don’t have to have a very long memory to understand just how much damage flooding can do to this region, with the March 2017 floods quite fresh in everyone’s minds,” Nationals Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker said.
“The better we can understand how our region floods, the more we can take steps to reduce or potentially even nullify the risks.
“Our communities need to become more resilient to this style of natural disaster, to save lives and property.
“As this funding is to equip local councils to better understand flooding in their areas, our local councils will be vitally important in our region’s response to floods and how subsequent recovery is undertaken.”
All successful projects will be managed by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and more information is available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/coasts/Floodgrants.htm.