Forbes Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan Consultation 2023

Forbes Shire Council has been successful in securing funding from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to undertake the Forbes Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan. The study is jointly funded by Council and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and aims to build community resilience towards flooding through informing better planning of development, emergency management and community awareness.

The Flood Risk Management Plan will detail evacuation plans for flood affected areas (within the Forbes Township only), and development controls available to Council specifically relating to flood prone areas.

Council is seeking the input of the community to help revise our Flood Risk Management Plan by completing the survey. This plan will also guide evacuation plans during floods and development controls on flood-prone areas. We need your help to make sure we get it right!

• Flood Risk Management Plans need updating with each new flood event to make sure they stay current and take current conditions into consideration.
• Council is looking for information, anecdotes, stories and images from the 2021 and 2022 floods to help inform the revised Flood Risk Management Plan. All the information we gather will help us to better understand recent flood behaviour. We know the community has a wealth of knowledge and experience so please share your thoughts with us to make sure we get this right.
• Gathering information on recent flood events and to appraise what flood related issues are important to the community, is a crucial step in the preparation of the Forbes Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan.
• We know flooding can and has had a terrible impact on our community. We don’t want to make light of your losses and we understand that these things may be difficult to talk about but it is critical that we have as much information as possible to inform the revised plan. We need your help to make sure we get this right!
• It is Council’s job and our duty of care to ensure we keep the community safe by managing flood impacts in existing developed areas of the community, and in areas that may be developed in the future. We can do this by enforcing developmental controls in areas that are likely to be affected during flood events.
• Information from historic floods can be improved using investigative techniques and modelling to: increase our understanding of these events. This will be extrapolated to understand the range of flood behaviour; and assess treatment options to inform management decisions.
• Council has a Floodplain Risk Management Committee which is comprised of relevant council members, state government agencies and community representatives.

There will be a variety of opportunities for you to have input into this survey, including this online survey. Survey’s will also be mailed out to all residents in the Forbes Township and available for collection at the Forbes Shire Council, front counter and the Manager of Planning and Growth, Eliza Noakes is available for phone appointments should you need!

We are aiming for maximum convenience here so that you can do it in your own time at home! Many of you would have seen this portal before for other consultations that Council has run. It’s super easy to use and very interactive. If you have trouble, just give us a ring!

The Flood Study that was adopted in 2020 can be located here: https://www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/building/stormwater-and-flooding/forbes-township-floodplain-management

For more information, please contact Council’s Manager Planning and Growth, Eliza Noakes on flooding@forbes.nsw.gov.au or 02 6850 2300.