Tumut Flood Study Funding Announced
Published on 10 February 2022
Snowy Valleys Council has been successful in achieving grant funding to undertake a comprehensive flood study for the town of Tumut.
The grant has been awarded through the New South Wales Government’s Biodiversity Conservation Floodplain Management program.
Council’s Executive Director Community and Corporate Paul Holton said the flood study will assist in the preparation of the draft Snowy Valleys Local Environment Plan slated to be progressed in 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.
“The project will develop a full two-dimensional flood model for the Tumut Township and will include both riverine and major overland flow flooding,” said Mr Holton.
“A full range of design events will be assessed and mapped to assist Council in protecting the community (including life and property) from flood inundation.”
The Tumut River, below Blowering Dam, meets the Goobarragandra River upstream of Tumut and creates unique flooding impacts on the town and low-lying lands in the region.
“One of the major benefits of the study will be to guide future development and ensure that new development is appropriately protected from flooding,” Mr Holton explained.
“It will also enable Council to ensure that the correct controls are in place for development within the floodplain where appropriate.”
Council applied for grant funding in 2021 to assist with the preparation of a comprehensive flood study for both Tumut and Tumbarumba.
“While we were successful in gaining funding for the Tumut study, we were unsuccessful in achieving funding for the Tumbarumba study in this round,” said Mr Holton.
“Council will pursue separate funding rounds in the 2022/2023 financial year to help finance a Tumbarumba flood study,” he said.
The Tumut flood study is expected to take up to 12 months to complete and Council will seek tenders to undertake the work by specialist flood consultants.
The NSW Government's floodplain management grants support local government to manage flood risk. Under the 2021–22 funding round, $9,537,320 was awarded to local councils and other authorities to undertake 49 projects to assess the risks and reduce the impacts of flooding in New South Wales.
-ENDS-