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Central
Floodplain Risk Management Committee – Wednesday 10 April 2024
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CFM24.3 Membership
Resignation - Zachariah Cleary
HPERM Ref: D24/30941
Department: Business
Assurance & Risk
Approver: Michael
Roberts, Manager - Environmental Services
Reason for Report
To advise the Central Floodplain
Risk Management Committee of the resignation received from Mr Zachariah Cleary
and fill the vacancy through the current opened Expression of Interest.
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Recommendation (Item to
be determined under delegated authority)
That the Central Floodplain
Risk Management Committee accept the resignation of Mr Zachariah Cleary and
thank him for his contribution to the Committee and fill the vacancy through
the current opened Expression of Interest.
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Options
1. Accept the recommendation
Implications: Vacant position will be filled.
2. Adopt an alternate recommendation
Implications: Unknown
Background
Council received notice from Mr
Zachariah Cleary of his resignation as a community representative on the
Central Floodplain Risk Management Committee on the 25 January 2024.
An Expression of Interest was undertaken in July 2023 and
remains open until the vacancies have been filled. The website will be updated
to include this additional vacant position and notification has been sent to
the Members with an advertisement flyer with information on how to apply and
encouraging the Members to share this flyer with their networks and within the
community.
Community Consultations
Council is currently looking for
Expressions of Interest on the Northern, Central and Southern Floodplain Risk
Management Committee’s and will include this vacancy in the Central
Committee’s EOI and update the website accordingly.
Risk Implications
Noting this resignation, there is now three (3) vacancies on
the Central Floodplain Risk Management Committee being the following positions:
· One
(1) youth representative between ages 16 & 30
· Two
(2) local community representative
The Expression of Interest has been opened since July 2023
with little uptake and applications from the community. There is no
expiry/closure date on the EOI and is currently promoted on Council’s
webpage, social media and a flyer has been designed and sent to Members and
staff of the Committee to share with their networks and community.
The Quorum of this Committee is three (3), inclusive of two
(2) community representatives and one (1) Chair, being a Councillor. As there
are now three (3) community representative vacancies, reaching quorum could be
a potential be problematic until these positions are deemed filled.
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Central
Floodplain Risk Management Committee – Wednesday 10 April 2024
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CFM24.4 General
Update on Flood Projects
HPERM Ref: D24/55503
Department: Environmental
Services
Approver: James
Ruprai, Director - City Development
Reason for Report
To provide the Central Floodplain Risk Management Committee
(FRMC) with an update on various flood related projects in the Central FRMC
region.
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Recommendation
(Item to be determined under delegated authority)
The
Committee receive the General Update on Flood Projects report for
information.
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Options
1. The
Committee receive the General Update on Flood Projects report for information.
Implications: Nil.
2. The
Committee could choose to provide an alternative recommendation for
consideration by Council.
Implications: Unknown.
Background
Lower Shoalhaven River and St
Georges Basin Flood Evacuation Capability Assessment
Council has engaged a
consultant, Water Technology, to complete this investigation.
The study will provide critical
planning information for both Council and the NSW State Emergency Service (SES)
to assist communities within the Lower Shoalhaven River and St Georges Basin
floodplains to be safely evacuated during flood events. The study will also
ensure future development is undertaken in areas in which roads have the
capacity to safely evacuate residents at times of flood (in accordance with the
Local Environmental Plan Flood Planning requirements). Furthermore, the outputs
from this study will assist communities to prepare themselves ahead of a flood
event to reduce their reliance on emergency services.
Water Technology will provide a
presentation on this project. This will include a summary of the key
objectives, project scope, deliverables, and key interfaces with the St Georges
Basin Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan (FRMS&P).
This project is fully funded by
the Federal Government’s Preparing Australian Communities – Local
Stream Program and is expected to be completed in early 2025.
St Georges Basin Floodplain
Risk Management Study and Plan
Following the completion of the St
Georges Basin Flood Study (2022) and adoption in early 2023, Council has
received grant funding from the NSW Department of
Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) (previously
DPE) Floodplain Management Program to undertake the St Georges Basin
FRMS&P.
During
2023, Council prepared the Technical Brief (in consultation with the NSW DCCEEW
and NSW SES), tender documents, and procured a consultant to complete the St
Georges Basin FRMS&P.
Council
has engaged a consultant, Rhelm, to complete this investigation.
Rhelm will provide a
presentation on this project. This will include a summary of the key
objectives, project scope, deliverables, and key interfaces with the Lower
Shoalhaven River and St Georges Basin Flood Evacuation Capability Assessment,
St Georges Basin, Sussex Inlet and Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program
(CMP), and Shoalhaven LGA Floor Level Survey for Flood Planning projects.
At the time of writing this
report, Council was preparing a Get Involved webpage for the St Georges Basin FRMS&P, media release, and emails to notify
all Community Consultative Bodies (CCBs) of the commencement of this study.
This communication will notify the community that suggestions for additional
mitigation options they would like to be considered as part of this
investigation can be provided for consideration in this study. Council also
welcomes further ideas from the Central FRMC on additional mitigation options
to be included for consideration.
As part of the St Georges
Basin Flood Study (2022) community consultation phase, Council requested
input regarding specific flood mitigation options to be considered as part of
the upcoming FRMS&P. As a result, initial community consultation will not
be undertaken as part of this study. As noted above, Council however welcomes
feedback on any additional mitigation measures that the FRMC and community
would like to be considered in this investigation.
A number of preliminary
mitigation options were identified from community consultation and the St
Georges Basin Flood Study (2022). These measures are summarised below and
will be investigated in this project.
§ Flood
Modification:
o Larmer
Avenue bridge relief structure.
o Levees
along lower Tomerong Creek at Sanctuary Point.
o Increase
size of diversion pipe from Tomerong Creek to oval channel.
o The
Park Drive and Mountain Street cumulative fill strategy / house raising.
o The
Park Drive voluntary house purchase and provide designated flow path and/or The
Park Drive road raising and bigger culverts.
o Fairview
Crescent levee.
o Sussex
Inlet cumulative fill strategy / house raising.
o Investigate
Sussex Inlet Channel modification/improvement. This needs to be undertaken for
targeted dredging as identified from the St Georges Basin, Sussex Inlet, Swan
Lake, and Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program.
§ Emergency
Management:
o Provide
gated flood free access roads from Erowal Bay and Wrights Beach.
o Wool
Road and Larmer Ave Road raising.
o Sussex
Inlet Road and Springs Road raising.
o Jacobs
Drive road raising (in combination with Sussex Inlet fill strategy). This needs
to consider the potential impacts that may arise from mosaic filling.
o The
Park Drive road raising (in combination with Park Drive and Mountain Street
cumulative fill strategy). This needs to consider the potential impacts that
may arise from mosaic filling.
o Flood
Education to Improve Flood Awareness and Preparedness.
o Potential
mitigation options identified from Lower Shoalhaven River and St Georges Basin
Flood Evacuation Capability Assessment (FECA) investigation in which flood
evacuation capacity deficiency is identified from the FECA. This could include
road raising, local bridge/culverts upgrades, additional road network capacity,
evacuation route raising, construction of flood free evacuation routes and
other relevant measures.
§ Planning
and Property:
o Voluntary
house raising, house purchase or land swap.
o Foreshore
areas house raising.
o The
Park Drive, Sanctuary Point voluntary purchase/house raising.
o Sussex
Inlet cumulative fill strategy/house raising.
o Review
flood planning levels for future development.
o Strategic
designated cumulative fill policy for future development.
o Rezoning
high risk locations.
o Rezoning
and/or back zoning.
The suitability of measures previously identified in the St
Georges Basin Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan – Climate
Change Assessment (WMAwater, 2013) will be considered for further
consideration where they have not yet been implemented. This previous study
will be superseded by the St Georges Basin FRMS&P when completed.
Management actions being investigated as part of the
StGeorges Basin, Sussex Inlet and Berrara Creek CMP will be reviewed and
included in the St Georges Basin FRMS&P if there is a potential flood risk
management benefit requiring further investigation.
The feasibility of potential
mitigation measures, along with preliminary environmental and Aboriginal
heritage due diligence will be completed for all potential options prior to
further assessment in the FRMS&P.
This project is 2/3 funded by
the DCCEEW Floodplain Management Program and
is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Shoalhaven LGA Floor Level
Survey for Flood Planning
Council
has received grant funding from the NSW Reconstruction Authority through the
Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF) to undertake this project. The DRRF is
jointly funded by the Federal and New South Wales governments.
The purpose of this project is to undertake a floor
level survey of existing dwellings located on flood prone land within the
Shoalhaven LGA to assist in reducing existing and future flood risk to the
Shoalhaven community. Properties to be surveyed were identified using flood
mapping from Council’s previously adopted flood investigations.
This project will include floor level survey in the St
Georges Basin, Currambene Creek and Moona Moona Creek catchments within the
Central FRMC area. The floor level survey for the Currambene Creek and Moona
Moona Creek catchments were captured in 2023. At the time of writing this
report, floor level surveys were being obtained for communities to the north of
St Georges Basin, with Sussex Inlet to follow.
The outputs of the study, the surveyed floor levels,
will be shared with the NSW SES to incorporate this information into their
flood event emergency response procedures.
Council will utilise the floor level data to undertake
flood damages assessments and assess the suitability of potential flood
mitigation measures investigated in the St Georges Basin FRMS&P.
Council has created a project webpage and issued a media
release prior to the project commencing.
https://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/Projects-Engagement/Major-Projects-Works/Shoalhaven-LGA-Floor-Level-Survey-for-Flood-Planning
Letters are being sent to all landowners for which
property access was required to undertake this dwelling floor level survey.
All remaining areas will be
completed prior to the project completion in May 2024.
EOI for Vacant Community
Representatives on Committee
It is
noted that there are currently three (3) vacancies on the Central FRMC, one (1)
youth representative and two (2) local community representatives. As a result,
Council has issued an expression of interest (EOI) to fill these vacancies.
As per the Terms of Reference,
memberships for Local Representatives on the committee consists of:
“…five (5) local
community representatives, one (1) youth representative between ages 16 and 30,
and one (1) indigenous representative, which meet the following criteria:
§ A
broad interest, knowledge and understanding of floodplain management and the
areas within the committee’s jurisdiction.
§ A
commitment to floodplain management in the nominated Council area; and
§ Local
resident or business person living or working in or near a flood prone
area.”
More information can be found in
the Committee’s Terms of Reference, available on Council’s website.
Terms
of Reference Northern / Central / Southern Floodplain Risk Management
Committees
This EOI will remain open until
the remaining FRMC vacancies have been filled.
Induction Program for Local
Representatives
During
the Northern FRMC meeting held on 7 December 2022, it was requested that
Council staff investigate the implementation of an induction program for local
representatives on the committee. A resolution was later made during the
Council meeting on 23 January 2023 for Council staff to pursue this request
(MIN23.15).
Floodplain Risk Management (FRM)
is a highly technical field consisting of a range of professional disciplines
such as Floodplain Engineering, Hydraulics, Land Use Planning, Civil
Engineering and Emergency Management. It can be, understandably so, challenging
for community representatives to review comprehensive technical reports, such
as a flood study, to provide feedback to the committee on these reports and to
convey the content of the reports to the community.
To improve the effectiveness of
the FRMCs and to assist community representatives with their work on the
committee, Council’s Floodplain Management Unit has worked on an
Induction Program. However, considering the ongoing EOI to fill current FRMC vacancies,
the Induction Program was delayed until after these vacancies have been filled.
This Induction Program will be held in the next six (6) months and is expected
to include an email to all FRMC members with links to helpful background
videos, followed by a Q&A session held in person and MS Teams for ease of
attendance by members.
Flood Alert Network Audit,
Maintenance and Upgrade
Annual audits have been
completed for all rainfall gauges, water level gauges and repeater stations
included in the Shoalhaven Flood Alert Network. Some maintenance actions are
currently underway as a result of these audits.
Council is also undertaking a
staged upgrade of all flood alert network gauges from ALERT1 to ALERT2
equipment. This is required to ensure the ongoing functionality and resilience
of these critical assets.
