New Data Strengthens Finch Hatton Flood Preparedness

A flood study for Finch Hatton was adopted at last week’s ordinary meeting of council.
The Finch Hatton Flood Study was undertaken by engineering consultants Water Technology Pty Ltd to update the existing flood data and inform planning for the Finch Hatton township.
Mayor Greg Williamson said council was continually expanding and re-assessing its flood hazard studies, which were prioritised based on various factors including the potential risk to the community and other development drivers.
“The new Finch Hatton Flood Study helps us to understand flood behaviour in Cattle Creek and the local catchments that influence the risk to Finch Hatton and its infrastructure,” Mayor Williamson said.
“The flood hazard information improves existing flood knowledge and will be used to inform flood risk assessment and management, planning and disaster management,” he said.
As part of the flood study, council commissioned updated ground level data – both survey and LiDAR – to update topography information.
Data from the rainfall and river height gauges, installed in the past decade, was incorporated and the latest industry flood guidance (ARR19) was used to ensure the new flood study uses the best available information.
“This study has found that peak flood levels are lower than those that were used to inform the Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) mapping,” Mayor Williamson said.
“Now that the study has been adopted, it can be used to prepare a Flood Risk Assessment to identify effective land use planning and development controls in Finch Hatton,” he said.
The study does not consider any projects upstream of the township.
Council will host a drop-in session at the Finch Hatton MTB Cattle Creek Administration Building on Thursday, November 27, from 4pm to 7pm should residents have any questions.

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