A draft flood study for the suburbs of Tomakin, Mossy Point, Broulee and Mogo is on public exhibition and Eurobodalla Council is hosting community information sessions next month for residents to talk about the work and what it will mean for them.
The results of the study are the first step in identifying the potential for flooding in the targeted river catchments.
Prepared for Council by WMA Water, the consultants considered a mix of first-hand accounts from residents, historic flood marks, tidal data, rainfall records and modern modelling techniques in their research. They met with the community in April 2015 prior to starting their work and according to Council’s Coastal and Flood Management Planner Norm Lenehan, residents took the opportunity to provide very valuable historic information.
“We were very happy with the quality of information provided by the local community,” Mr Lenehan said. ”We were able to compare models with flood marks recorded on posts as far back as 1974. Without local knowledge we certainly wouldn’t have been aware of these marks. This is just the type of quality data we need to improve the accuracy of the model outputs,” he said.
Council and the consultants are now eager to meet with the community again to present the draft study and two community information sessions will be held in June. The sessions will be held at the Tomakin Community Hall on Tuesday 7 June between 6pm and 8pm, and on Wednesday 8 June between 11am and 2pm.
The community can drop in at any time between these hours to meet with Council staff and representatives from WMA Water.
The draft flood study, which was prepared with the technical advice and financial support of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, is now on public exhibition and Council is seeking comments from the community until close of business on Friday 24 June.
The study is also available for viewing or overnight loan from the Batemans Bay and Moruya Libraries. An additional copy is available for viewing at the Moruya Administration Centre.