Zoe Moffatt
Macedon Ranges council will hold community information sessions in Woodend during November to update residents and businesses on the Woodend flood study findings.
In 2019, council received a $140,000 grant to undertake the study, which will be used for land use planning, flood management planning, emergency response and flood education.
At a council meeting on October 25, director assets and operations Shane Walden said the bulk of the study was completed in 2021, and includes climate change data but not data from last year’s floods.
“[The report] does include the application of climate climate change data, which is deemed to take events such as last year’s floods into account,” Mr Walden said.
“To seek to include this data might take an additional nine months and an estimated $50,000 to $75,000, and the data may not be readily available in the right format.
“However, there was community consultation processes carried out in February and March 2020, to gather feedback and the anecdotal history of past flood events.”
As part of this consultation, landowners were asked to provide information on past flooding behaviour in the township through an online survey.
Thirty-six online surveys were provided and multiple responses received via email, which was considered as part of the flood modelling in addition to flood hotspots recorded in council’s internal systems.
Upon completion of the study, a flood mitigation action plan will be undertaken, along with its incorporation once endorsed into the planning scheme.
As these two pieces of work were not originally funded, they will be subject to future budget bids.
A general presentation and information session will be held on November 27, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at the Woodend Community Centre.
A selected drop-in session will be held on November 29, from 2pm to 7pm for impacted residents and businesses in the same location.
Officers will then present the final report to a council for the study to be adopted.
