MidCoast Council’s consultants will conduct a feasibility study for a levee for the Taree central business district.
The feasibility study will explore various levee design options, considering heritage and environmental factors. It will consider the benefit, aesthetic impacts, costs, flood impacts and community support for each option. The study will also assess the need for stormwater drainage upgrades.
Taree has a long history of flooding, with the largest flood recorded in 1929. Large flood events have occurred in 1978, 1990, 2011 and 2013, with the largest recent event in March 2021.
The area between Commerce Street and Pulteney Street is low-lying and impacted by flooding.
Council updated the Manning River Flood Study in 2015 to reduce the potential impacts of flooding on our community. Locals provided valuable input, sharing their experiences of flooding in the area.
In 2020, Council completed a Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan for the Manning River. This study identified the need to consider a levee for the Taree central business district.
The feasibility study will provide Council and the community with options to reduce the impact of flood events. The community will be able to provide feedback on the options in 2023.
The feasibility study is funded thanks to a grant of $82,000 from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s 2021-22 Floodplain Management Program.
