Rhett Burnie
CONSTRUCTION of an earthen levee bank to provide flood protection to Seymour has gained the support of The Nationals and Mitchell Shire Council.
Council voted in favour of adopting the Seymour Flood Mitigation Project, Preliminary Design Report, prepared by John Webb Consulting in October 2009, at its meeting last week.
The two to three metre high levee is estimated to cost $6.2 million and will provide a solution to years of flood issues in Seymour’s north.
With appropriate funding, the project will protect approximately 400 dwellings from flooding of the Goulburn River and Whiteheads Creek.
Construction of the levee bank was found to reduce the average annual damage, by more than half, to $20,000.
Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority said construction of a levee would allow it to lift the flood overlay in the 100-year floodplain.
Mayor Melbourne said this would ensure Seymour’s growth and the project was the only “feasible means of providing a safeguard for the Seymour township.”
“The levee bank project effectively opens the opportunity for growth and advancement of the Seymour community by removing development restrictions.
“The benefits for Seymour’s residential and retail communities are enormous, reinvigorating development interest in the township, especially where costs associated with building were inflated due to the need to build to flood level regulations.”
While council support for the project is a flood of relief for the 196 signatories on a petition in favour of the proposal, council received 48 signatures on a petition against the levee bank.
“The people that support the levee bank outweigh the ones against it,” Cr Des Callaghan said.
“[The flood overlay] is holding Seymour back but people who own land in the vicinity are concerned.”
Cr Ross Lee was the only councillor to vote against the levee bank, stating that he was “not convinced that the majority of people support the levee bank.”
The project will only proceed if appropriate funding is sourced from Federal and State Governments.
Council is expected to contribute a minimum of $1.5 million and will make an application for funding to the Natural Disaster Resilience Program.
Shadow Minister for Country Water Resources and Deputy Leader of The Nationals, Peter Walsh, said a Coalition Government would invest $1.6 million towards construction of the project.
Mr Walsh said the funding, through the Coalition’s $1 billion Regional Growth Fund, would deliver significant economic, environmental and social benefits to Seymour.
“Building the levee will release a large area of land that is sitting under a flood overlay, enabling economic investment to flow immediately to the region,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Mitchell Shire Council has committed to the levee and a funding application has been put to the Commonwealth,” Mr Walsh said.
The Nationals candidate for Seymour, Anthony Rolando, said construction of the flood levee would also enable Seymour to secure long term employment opportunities for local residents.
“Recent flooding in central Victoria has demonstrated the need for this levee.
“The people of Seymour deserve to feel confident that their homes and businesses are not under threat from floods,” Mr Rolando said.
Mitchell Shire Council will begin statutory processes regarding planning scheme requirements as recommended in the preliminary design report.
The next round of submissions for funding through the Natural Disaster Resilience Program is in February 2011, with the results of council’s application expected by July.
