Draft Flood Management Plan – Feedback due by 13 March

Posted on 9 March, 2015 by Connecting Country

The North Central CMA, in conjunction with the Mount Alexander Shire Council and a local Steering Committee, is in the process of finalising the Castlemaine, Campbells Creek and Chewton Flood Management Plan and is seeking public feedback on the Draft Plan. Feedback is due by Friday 13 March 2015. You can send your response by email to shaun.morgan@nncma.vic.gov.au.

The plan includes 10 recommendations for flood management, including the construction and enhancement of a number of levee banks, the development of a shire plan for floods, planning scheme amendments, flood warning systems and some vegetation removal downstream of Alexandra St in Campbells Creek.

Thankfully the draft plan does not recommend the wholesale removal of native vegetation from along the creeks as an approach to flood mitigation. The flood modelling undertaken by consultants GHD indicated that widespread vegetation removal along the creeks would not be an effective approach for flood management.

Following this feedback period when the final version of the plan is subsequently developed, Connecting Country does not wish to see any additional recommendations for the removal native vegetation and habitat. As such, we will be making a submission to the draft plan which supports the use of flood management approaches that minimise or, preferably, avoid the removal of native vegetation and other riparian habitat features.

A copy of the draft plan is available for downloading (CLICK HERE) and you can go to the North Central CMA website for further information on the overall process and other background information (CLICK HERE).

The website of the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests also has information which may be of interest to people considering making a submission (CLICK HERE).