Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) has announced the Wollongong City Council as the winner of its 2022 FMA ICA Flood Risk Management Project of the Year Award.
The winning project, the Implementing ARR2019 in Wollongong, involved testing the national guideline document used for estimating of flood characteristics and adapting it to the local environment.
Council started testing the guideline through a review of 10 flood studies, which gave valuable insights on the new methodology and identified the need to develop local guidance so that the implementation of ARR2019 was relevant locally.
This local guidance was developed by Council’s flood engineers and expert consultants.
FMA President, Ian Dinham, said the FMA ICA Excellence Award aims to recognise and promote the invaluable work individuals and organisations do to better prepare their community for floods.
“Wollongong has a history of flash flooding and the efforts of Council demonstrate the unparalleled dedication its flood risk management professionals have for their local communities.” Mr Dinham said.
“The many elements of the project that were required to better understand and help reduce the flood risk in the Wollongong area were exceptionally comprehensive and multi-faceted. This is the kind of work that can change the way Australia responds to the ever-present threat of flooding.”
As the winner of the Excellence Award, the project team will receive $10,000 to continue their important work.
The Insurance Council of Australia’s Andrew Hall said the ICA is pleased to present Wollongong City Council with this prestigious award. “Effecting lasting improvements to natural disaster exposure in Australia requires increased funding for both public and private mitigation projects, improving building standards and quality, and making risk informed land use planning decisions.
“All of these actions require a better understanding of natural disaster risks, and Wollongong Council’s project will greatly increase the accuracy of estimating the risks of flooding across the LGA. Furthermore, guidance developed by this project is being shared with other flood industry leaders to enable improved accuracy of flood studies elsewhere.”
The winner of the FMA ICA Excellence Award was announced at this year’s FMA National Conference in Toowoomba on the 19 May 2022. F
