Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme

Information on local flood planning, development and responsibilities

Any proposed development works (including fences) located in, on or adjacent to levees or within declared floodplains (as gazetted under the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Act 1956) must be referred to Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for consideration under Section 256 of the Water Management Act 2000.

For information about what you can and cannot do around Hunter Valley flood Mitigation Scheme infrastructure, please read: Requirements for development in the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme

If you are a developer you will need council approval. Council will refer the plan to the department. You should consult with the department before submitting the final plans as this will avoid unnecessary amendments at a later stage.

The NSW Flood Data Portal also has information on flood planning and development.

Information about flooding in your area and development controls can be found on your local council website:

City of Newcastle

• Flood Management Plans

Maitland City Council

• Development Control Plan

Port Stephens Council

• Flooding

Singleton Council

• Floodplain management

Upper Hunter Shire Council

• Upper Hunter Development Control Plan 2015 (PDF. 1,500KB)
• March 2021

Flood event contacts

Emergency call 000

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)

The BOM website provides the community with access to weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, observations, flood information, marine and high seas forecasts and climate information.

Phone: 02 9296 1555

Hunter Forecast (BOM)

For up to date regional information.

State Emergency Service (SES)

NSW SES is the lead combat agency in flood, storm and tsunami emergencies.

Emergency call 132 500

Search their site by suburb for storm, flood and tsunami risk and advice for your area on how to plan and prepare for disasters and bad weather, what to do during the flood or storm and steps to recovery once the disaster is over.

Roads and Maritime Services

Phone 132 701 for information on road closures or see live traffic updates.

Hunter Local Land Services

Emergency call 1300 795 299 or go to the website.

NSW Department of Primary Industries

Responsible for the coordination of agriculture and animal services in emergencies.

The scheme assets are owned by the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation and are managed under delegation by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Scheme assets are located on private land.

Hunter Local Land Services contributes to the maintenance budget, as required by the Water Management Act 2000. This Act repealed the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme Act 1956.

Hunter Local Land Services' share is funded by the Hunter Catchment Contributions. Local government ratepayers in the Hunter catchment pay an annual levy, known as Hunter catchment contributions. Local councils also provide a small contribution. Chapter 5 Public Works – Part 2 of the Water Management Act refers directly to Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation works. Works are approved under Part 5 of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

The department is responsible for all maintenance activities of scheme assets. Maintenance activities include:

• levee mowing
• spraying of aquatic and terrestrial weeds
• cleaning of drains
• floodgate repairs.

In some cases, drainage channels extend beyond the department's jurisdiction and we have no authority to undertake any works in these areas.

We also contract other agencies and organisations to do work on their behalf. This can include project design and management, construction work, assessment of environmental factors and stakeholder engagement.

• Watch the video: Parsons Creek Remediation - Floodplain Management

Flood management assets and activities

Over 2000 individual assets are maintained along the rivers and floodplains.

Levee

An embankment providing a reduction in in flood damages to towns in moderate and major flood events and the rural areas in minor events.

Drainage Channel (or drains)

Control discharge of floodwaters from the river spilling into defined floodways.

Control and diversion banks

Reduce the potential damage by controlling the speed, direction and depth of floodwaters. These are located on the Bolwarra, Oakhampton, Swan Reach and Raymond Terrace floodways.

Floodgate

Prevents backflow from the river as water levels rise during flood events and releases water from drains and creeks after flood waters recede.

Floodway

Part of the natural floodplain allowing diversion of floodwaters away from the main river channel during a flood and which is often a naturally defined channel. If these areas are blocked they can cause a significant change in flood flow, direction and levels, affecting other areas.

Bank stabilisation and protection works

Protection works stabilise and protect surrounding river banks from erosive flood waters, which in turn protects the levee assets.

River or stream banks without vegetation will continue to be unstable if the toe of the bank, where the levee meets the original surface foundation, continues to wash away.

Vegetation within the levee protected zone is limited to grass or low ground coverage. OEH does not permit planting of trees or shrubs within the protected zone.

River Bank Protection Works Protect the river bank from erosion; this helps to maintain and stabilise the levee. The scheme has 38km of bank protection works in the Lower Hunter and 270km of bank protection works in the Upper Hunter. In the Lower Hunter the works include hard engineering using rock and timber. In the Upper Hunter the works include soft engineering using woody debris and revegetation.
Control Banks and Basins Reduce potential damage by controlling the velocity, direction and depth of floodwaters. The scheme has 5 basins and 5 control banks. The control banks are made from rock and earth. The scheme has numerous control banks designed to control the flow by acting as stilling basins located at Maitland, Lorn, Nelsons Plains, Millers Forest.
Drainage Channels Remove floodwater by directing the water back to the river. The scheme has over 164km of drainage channels. The channels are earthen works and were originally constructed using a dragline excavator. The channels are designed to remove floodwaters within 5 days once river heights return to normal conditions.
Floodgates Prevent the backflow of water to the landscape during a flood. As the river height goes down floodgates allow the water to return to the river. The scheme has a network of over 260 floodgates (including inlet pits) and 500 flood pipes. Pipe sizes range from 0.3m to 3.3m diameter. Floodgate cell systems can range from a single cell to a 10 cell system up to 4.3m wide.
Floodplains Low-lying landscapes adjacent to a river which inundate when the river is in flood. The scheme has a total of 59km2 of declared floodplains. The scheme has declared floodplains for the four local government areas in the Lower Hunter and are located in Maitland, Lorn, Singleton, Hexham, Tarro, Woodville Tomago and Fullerton Cove.
Levees Contain rivers and/ or mitigate floodwaters in a flood. The scheme was more than 185km of levees. The levee system is designed to contain a minor/moderate flood and mitigate (lessen the impact or delay the effects of) moderate/major floods. Levees can be earthen landscapes, concrete paths and/ or roadways.
Spillways Divert excess floodwaters through defined flood ways. The scheme has more than 3.8km of spillways, including a serpentine spillway. Spillways are constructed of earth, concrete, rock and wire mesh.