PRESENT
Cr Vanessa Keenan Wagga Wagga City Council
Cr Rod Kendall Wagga Wagga City Council
Jenny Rolfe Community Member
Ros Prangnell Community Member
Pat Murray Community Member
Brian Mahony Community Member
IN ATTENDANCE
Cr Greg Conkey Mayor
Peter Thompson General Manager
Janice Summerhayes Director Community
Steve Manwaring Office of Environment and Heritage
Shaula Siregar Engineer - Water & Waste Assets
Sam Robins Town Planner
Adriaan Stander Strategic Planning Coordinator
Darryl Woods Senior Project Manager
Logan Robinson Cadet Engineer
Brett Koschel Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Maree Ingram Administration Coordinator (Minute Taker)
Catherine Goonan WMAwater
The meeting of the Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee commenced at 8.30.
Acknowledgement Of Country
I would like to Acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Land, on which this meeting takes place and to pay my respects to Elders past and present.
APOLOGIES
Cr Tim Koschel Wagga Wagga City Council
Caroline Angel Director Commercial Operations
Ian Leckie State Emergency Services
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On the Motion of R Kendall and J Rolfe That the Committee a. confirm that the Minutes of the proceedings of the Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee Meeting held on 10 April 2018 be a true and accurate record b. note that there were no Minutes of the proceedings of the Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee Meeting held on 3 July 2018 due to no quorum present.
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Declarations Of Interest
Nil Declarations of Interest were received
Introduction of New Committee Members
Governance officer, Nicole Johnson undertook a short induction of new committee members prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Cr Keenan welcomed the new community members to the committee.
Reports from Staff
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That the Committee receive and note the report.
General Discussion on Projects
Project 1753 - Wagga Wagga Major Overland Flow Flood (MOFF) Risk Management Study and Plan Cath Goonan gave a presentation to the Committee that provided an overview and progress of this project. She advised that WMAwater have reviewed the current model in terms of the new ARR 2016 guidelines and decided that they will still use ARR 1987 guidelines. Cr Kendall – Suggestion made that in future consultation letters should be send to not only the physical address of the property but also to the property owner if the mailing address is different as there may not have been consultation with people who have been through a flood in the four identified areas Cr Kendall – Noted that there is an issue with Plumpton Rd in that this road is higher than the land along it and this caused water to back up into people’s front yards. A general discussion followed in respect to Flood Mitigation Options relating to the MOFFS North Wagga Run Off Management Scheme S Manwarring – Suggested that the current Harness Racing development be included in the current model. Cr Kendall – Once the MOFFS has been finalised and adopted developers, engineers, designers and planners should be given access to ensure that everyone is using the same model. City Area – Lagoon Management Cr Keenan – Were there any comments made by the community in respect to the desilting works previously undertaken by Council as well in respect to the installation of the pump at the eastern end of the lagoon? Ø No there were issues raised. S Robins – Was there any reference to Spring Street and Kenneally St in the feedback from the community consultation letters that were sent out as these two areas have issues with development that has impacted overland flow? Ø WMAwater to check spreadsheet of collated feedback. Cr Kendall – In the event of over forecasted heavy rain and the Wollundry lagoon level having been lowered, is there any ability for Council to pump from the Murrumbidgee River to refill the Lagoon? Is there any sort of transfer arrangement available for a restocking option? J Summerhayes – There is a certain water level required for air conditioning needs of the Civic Centre. Ø C Goonan – Can these levels be provided to WMAwater? Cr Kendall – Noted that there may be environmental impacts on the Lagoon if the water is pumped out quickly and refilled quickly. D Woods – Was there any submission received in respect to the Wiradjuri area? Ø C Goonan – No submissions were received for this area. City Area – Glenfield Drain Cr Kendall – Are maintenance regimes being looked at for Glenfield drain as well? There is drainage infrastructure that has been designed and built that should have a maintenance regime built in as well. Some infrastructure has not been maintained for a long period of time. J Summerhayes - We need to be innovative in how we undertake drain construction and maintenance i.e. water sensitive urban design. P Murray - If you take the roughness out of some drains you can potentially cause more erosion. It is a better practice to slow runoff down. C Goonan - Will look for things to improve flooding but will also consider areas that may have other advantages such as widening of channels and how they are built. S Robins - Council need to be more careful when rezoning land eg Lineal Park. Need to be more thoughtful re dedication of land. A Stander - Council is currently in the process of reviewing and developing new land use strategies for the city. One of the key priorities is to consider the location of future growth areas and identify areas in the city that may be intensified for through further subdivision. New structure plans will consider natural drainage lines and identify opportunities to incorporate these into green Infrastructure. Response Modification Community Response Cr Kendall - How do we deal with ignorance in relation to safety in overland flow flood events? Cath Goonan- Need to educate/advise residents who live near key flow paths. Cr Kendall - It's not so much the local residents that we need to educate or make aware of affected roads. It is more so the road users who will be impacted by road closures. Cr Keenan - Need to improve the broader understanding of drainage system’s capabilities. Drainage systems are designed for a 1 in 10 year event, need to get this message out to the community. Cr Kendall - The general public are not aware of the way roads are built. Roads act as water conduits for events greater than 1 in 10 years which the general public do not understand. Cath Goonan - Will have a refined list of options ready for review at the next meeting in respect to the four areas that are covered by the model as identified in the presentation. Cath Goonan - Is there any current information on the emergency management of overland flow floods? Cr Kendall - Is there a possibility that Council could investigate the development of an App designed to give notice of a potential weather event that may cause road flooding? Cr Keenan - The management of overland flow flooding should be referred to the Local Emergency Management Committee for advice. S Robins – waterRide software could be used to model potential rain events. Notice could then be given to motorists about roads that may be flooded, however waterRide is not up to speed yet within Council. Other organisations have used it for these purposes. A map could be added to Council's website that depicts road hotspots that could be updated depending on the anticipated rain event. C Goonan - Once waterRide has been defined , depth markers and road closures could be used to manage critical overland flood flow issues on roads.
Project 1793 - Main City and North Wagga Levee Construction Stage 1 Six contractors attended a pre tender onsite meeting that involved the six kilometres of the project being walked by attendees. Cr Conkey - When does Stage 2 have to be finalised by? D Woods - Hoping for a 12 month period. Have asked contractors for a period of works. There is a mixture of surfaces throughout the project, are asking contractors to complete each area concurrently. Cr Keenan - Reiterate a request for a site visit to be arranged for committee members and requested advice as to the most appropriate places to go to that would provide the best examples of the complexity of the works.
Project 18640 - Wagga Wagga Villages Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan S Siregar - Once a consultant is engaged, consultation with the village communities will commence. J Summerhayes - Staff need to work with village progress associations, to assist with community consultation opportunities in these locations. |
QUESTIONS/BUSINESS WITH NOTICE
GB -1 Floodplain Management Association - Conference
Cr Keenan attended the Floodplain Management Association National conference from 29 May - 1 June 2018. Noted taken at the conference by Cr Keenan will be distributed to the committee
S Manwarring advised that the 2019 conference is to be held in Canberra from 14 - 17 May 2019, he strongly encourages Council and the committee to support the event.
GB -2 Restoration of assets following flood damage
Cr Kendall asked as to whether there had been any identified changes to the policy/position in respect to the current practise of replacing damaged infrastructure to pre flood condition. Traditionally if a culvert is washed out then the original is replaced, with any upgrade to a new culvert to be at the cost of Council. Has there been any change to this practise? Should the committee push for improvement to the policy?
S Manwarring - Unable to add anything as this is out of my field of expertise as this aligns more with natural disaster funding.
C Goonan - Council should look at developing a recommendation for provision to the relevant authority for a review to be undertaken of the current restoration funding process.
The Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee rose at 10.00am