Southern floodplain management plans

Historically, the management of rural floodplains relied upon the preparation of localised floodplain management plans under Part 8 of the Water Act 1912. These localised floodplain management plans were designed to achieve the following outcomes to the benefit of both rural communities and the floodplain environment, allowing farmers to plan for future sustainable development based on a strategic scheme for the management of floodwaters:

• Mapping of floodplain development, major flood flow-paths and flood-dependent ecosystems to better manage floodplain assets
• Mapping of unobstructed floodway networks to identify effective passage of floodwaters and maintain floodplain connectivity to protect and enhance flood-dependent ecosystems and fish passage
• Provision of guidelines to determine where landholder flood protection works can and cannot be constructed
• Provision of remedial solutions to resolve hydraulic and environmental ‘hot-spots’ using a strategic risk management approach
• Provision of assessment criteria for regulating existing and future flood control works within floodway networks

Localised floodplain management plans prepared under Part 8 of the Water Act 1912 are superseded upon the commencement of a floodplain management plan under the Water Management Act 2000.

Of the 22 localised floodplain management plans originally prepared under Part 8 of the Water Act 1912, 10 remain in-force across New South Wales. The Natural Resources Commission completed an audit of these floodplain management plans in 2020. A copy of the audit report may be downloaded from the NRC website.

The department has completed a review of the plan under Section 43 of the Water Management Act 2000. The review report is now available. The Section 43 review report (including all submissions) will be used in conjunction with the NRC audit findings to inform the replacement of the floodplain management plans in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.

For more information about the transition of floodplain management planning from the Water Act 1912 to the Water Management Act 2000 in NSW, download Floodplain management under the Water Management Act 2000: A guide to the changes. PDF, 109.42 KB

Floodplain management plans