Draft Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport 2021 – 2031 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of COUNTRY
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Draft Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport 2021 – 2031 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Melbourne Water respectfully acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land and water on which all Australians rely. We pay our respects to Bunurong, Boon Wurrung, Wurundjeri Woi wurrung and Wadawurrung, their Elders past, present and future as Traditional Owners and the custodians of the land and water on which we rely and operate. We acknowledge and respect the continued cultural, social and spiritual connections of all Aboriginal Victorians, and the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community have with lands and waters, and recognise and value their inherent responsibility to care for and protect them for thousands of generations. Melbourne Water acknowledges Aboriginal Victorians as Traditional Owners and in the spirit of reconciliation, we remain committed to working in partnership with Traditional Owners to ensure meaningful ongoing contribution to the future of land and water management. Traditional Owner organisations were given the opportunity to provide content and feedback on the refresh of this flood strategy. Cora Lynn ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This strategy was developed through a collaborative The Flood Leadership Committee process with partners and stakeholders across Melbourne Water prepared this document with the region. governance from the Flood Leadership Committee, Melbourne Water is grateful for the energy, which included representatives from: experience and expertise of everyone who was Cardinia Shire Council involved in developing this shared understanding • of our collective vision, the challenges in the region • City of Melbourne and the opportunities for improving flood • City of Port Phillip management delivery. • Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning • Emergency Management Victoria • Insurance Council of Australia • Melbourne Water • Moonee Valley City Council • Mornington Peninsula Shire Council • Victorian Planning Authority • Municipal Association of Victoria • South East Water • Victoria State Emergency Service • Wyndham City Council Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport 1 Salt Creek flooding at Lower Plenty Road, Rosanna CONTENTS Preface 4 Why did we need to refresh the flood strategy? 4 Our key steps 4 Next steps: community input, testing with partners and industry endorsement 4 Summary 5 Our region 5 Climate change and urbanisation are increasing flood risk 6 Many organisations have a role in managing flooding 6 Our long-term vision 6 Introduction 8 Section 1 — Why we need a flood strategy 8 Flooding in the Port Phillip and Westernport region 9 Types of flooding 16 The impact of flooding 18 The challenges and opportunities for the future 19 Section 2 — The processes for managing flooding in our region 22 The flood management process 23 Roles and responsibilities in preparing for and managing flood risks 26 Managing the vital drainage system 27 Policies and strategies influencing flood management 27 What we have achieved since the last flood strategy 29 The flood strategy in action 34 Section 3 — A shared vision for Port Phillip and Westernport 34 Vision, objectives, 10-year outcomes and focus areas 35 Section 4 — The focus areas 38 About the focus areas 39 Objective 1: The right information is available at the right time to the people who need it 39 FOCUS AREA 1: Fit-for-purpose information 40 FOCUS AREA 2: Community knowledge platform 41 FOCUS AREA 3: Empowering communities 42 2 Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport Objective 2: Flood risks and opportunities are managed to reduce impacts and get the best social, economic, and environmental outcomes 43 FOCUS AREA 4: Flood effects reduction 43 FOCUS AREA 5: Land use planning 46 FOCUS AREA 6: Challenges of climate change 48 FOCUS AREA 7: Multiple benefits embedded in decision-making 49 Objective 3: Land, water and emergency agencies work together to manage flooding effectively 51 FOCUS AREA 8: Clarifying roles and responsibilities 51 FOCUS AREA 9: Emergency agency preparedness and response 52 FOCUS AREA 10: Flood recovery 53 Governance, implementation and monitoring 54 Section 5 — Governance, endorsement and implementation 54 The governance framework 55 The endorsement process 56 Implementation 56 Section 6 — Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement 58 Embedding accountability, learning and continuous improvement 59 Evaluating the strategy 60 Monitoring the strategy 61 Reporting 61 Glossary 62 Abbreviations 63 Bibliography 64 Figures Figure 1. Vision, objectives, 10-year outcomes, focus areas and 5-year Action plans x2 7 Figure 2. Mapped flooding in Port Phillip and Westernport 10 Figure 3. What happens when it floods 11 Figure 4. A timeline of flooding in our region 12 Figure 5. Estimating annual average damage 18 Figure 6. The influence of climate change on the water cycle 20 Figure 7. Flood management prevention, response and recovery 24 Figure 8. Stages in flood management – before, during and after 25 Figure 9. Flood management and related policies and strategies 28 Figure 10. A selection of flood management strategy achievements 30 Figure 11. Vision, objectives, 10-year outcomes, focus areas and 5-year Action plans x2 37 Figure 12. Making best use of resources – choosing the right approach in each location 45 Figure 13. Governance framework 55 Tables Table 1. Annual review and planning process 56 Table 2. Key evaluation questions 60 Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport 3 Yarra Glen flooding PREFACE Melbourne Water prepared this Flood Management Our key steps Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport, together with The refresh process has been rewarding. We began the our partners. process in early 2019, starting with extensive consultation We developed this strategy to ensure that we are working and a scan of national and international best-practice together to enhance our understanding of the problem of approaches for flooding. Together, we: flooding in a rapidly changing context of climate change and • reviewed the existing vision and objectives increasing urbanisation. We wanted to make sure we have • identified key directions the right mix of solutions and embed a process of continuous improvement. • determined the focus areas and actions to achieve the objectives Our partners are organisations in the region who have • developed an approach of shared responsibility and flood management responsibilities, including local and state accountability government, water authorities and emergency services. • included monitoring, review and evaluation processes Reflecting this successful partnership, the pronoun ‘we’ in the strategy. throughout this document refers to all flood management agencies in the region. We reviewed past achievements – our successes and disappointments – reset our collective long-term vision, This strategy sits within a broader context of enhancing articulated 10-year objectives and outcomes, and developed community safety and is part of a framework of related the first of two, five-year action plans that will span the legislation, policies and strategies and reflects national life of the strategy. and state best-practice standards and guidelines. Our vision directed our work, and we applied best-practice This strategy is a draft for consultation, and has an approaches to collectively managing flood risk, including accompanying draft five-year action plan. approaches to land use planning; flood information; This is a ‘refresh’ of the 2015 Flood Management Strategy education; flood warnings; emergency response and Port Phillip and Westernport. recovery; and constructing, maintaining or upgrading our drainage, flood management infrastructure and multi- Why did we need to refresh the flood strategy? functional assets. These approaches respond to flood risks We need to ensure we remain prepared in what is a rapidly – before, during and after flood events. changing context. Climate change and urbanisation Next steps: community input, testing with significantly increase our flood risks. We now have more information about climate change and how it affects our partners and industry endorsement region, and our population is growing at a faster rate than This is a draft ready for consultation. With this draft, we ever before. are: We want to consolidate what is working in how we manage • inviting community input on the draft strategy flood risk, and ensure we are constantly improving what • developing and testing the strategy and action plan with we do, so that we continue to make the region safer for partner organisations. our community. The Flood Leadership Committee will endorse the final strategy and accompanying action plan, and the Melbourne Water Board of Directors will approve them for release. Partner organisations will be asked to endorse the final strategy. Implementation and monitoring will be a collective effort, coordinated by Melbourne Water. 4 Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport Yarra Glen flooding SUMMARY The Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Our region Westernport is a 10-year strategy. It builds on our strong The Port Phillip and Westernport region extends history of flood management, and the previous 2015 approximately 13,000 square kilometres, from high in the strategy, to set a path within our current circumstances. Yarra Ranges to the east, Ballan in the west, Lancefield in In this strategy we set out the context for flooding in the the