Carisbrook residents call to meet with Central Goldfields Shire

For Wayne McKail and his Carisbrook neighbours, January 2011 was the last time they experienced a "big flood".

The region had more than 200 millimetres of rain in a short period of time in 2011.

"We have the creek which meanders down the bottom of Carisbrook," he said.

"It floods about 10 to 12 houses, then we have all the water which comes down from Maryborough."

He said the council decided to build a levee and met with the community in 2013 to vote on a developed plan.

"Had they built it the way the community required it, we understand it would have been successful and it would have protected the shire," Mr McKail said.

"But between 2013 and 2020 there was no public consultation, they altered the design of it several times, and in 2022 we had 50 millimetres of rain and we nearly had the same flooding problem.

"We are subject to intense downpours, and when we got that 50mm of rain it happened in about an hour."

Mr McKail said he believed if there were further culverts underneath the Pyrenees Highway, water flow would be more efficient and help avoid future floods.

"The water would flow down and not be stored above the town," he said.

Central Goldfields Shire infrastructure, assets and planning general manager Matthew Irving said the levee design and construction had both direct engagement with affected property owners and wider engagement with the community.

He said engagement methods included ongoing information on a council webpage and face-to-face meetings.

"The levee has been designed to cater up to and for a one-in-100 year storm event, for which is the maximum government currently funds flood mitigation infrastructure," he said.

Mr Irving said a community flood reference group was formed in 2018 to give input into the levee decisions, with a community forum in 2021 involving a hydrologist to answer questions from community members.

He said the council also "met most recently with community members" and planned to meet again during visits from current state and federal MPs on the flood inquiry.

Mr Irving said the levee project had an "appropriately qualified consultant" do hydraulic modelling, and has been reviewed since the plans were first finished in 2013.

"[It was] to take into account changes required from the rainfall Intensity-Frequency-Duration review as part of updated information from Australian Rainfall and Runoff Guidelines in 2019," he said.

"[And] design work carried out by a second appropriately-qualified document that considered this modelling, and then a further independent engineering review of both these pieces of work in 2019 to ensure best practice outcomes were being achieved."

He said the levee was fully constructed, with a potential maintenance plan in development.

He said information on the levee project was available online and provided the community answers to frequently asked questions.

Mr Irving said the Carisbrook CFA made a submission to the recent State Government Flood inquiry, stating the levee construction hoped to control overland water but would eventually empty to the creek "at some point".

He also said the same submission claimed a 2022 rain event showed effectiveness at directing overland water away from the town.

Mr McKail said there were two meetings since 2013, including one in 2021, which the council said they would meet again with the community to compare figures.

"Those meetings were supposed to be community consultation, it was an advisory meeting and not a consultation," he said.

"They stated in June 2023 that the levee was completed, they also stated they were under budget and there are a few things they needed to look at to complete the job, but they wouldn't tell us what they are."

Mr McKail said they had created a Facebook page, the Carisbrook Western Flood Levee, to help garner support and open discussion about the levee.

He said the page collected 737 followers, and had about 15 to 20 local residents regularly contributing to its content.

"Our membership is strong, and that's what keeps us going, every person contributing every little bit," he said.

"We need to rebuild the confidence in the council and in the system."

The group recently met with Northern Victoria MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell about their concerns, and will meet with federal MP Anne Webster on December 13.

Stock & Land approached Ms Tyrrell for comment, but she was unable to meet the deadline.

Mr McKail said a councillor and council officer attended the meeting with Ms Tyrrell, but declined to answer any questions.

"We've now had to take our concerns to serving members outside of our own electorate, and that's a concern," he said.

"The bottom line is the community are not confident in what the council have built, and all we're asking is for the councillors to meet and listen to us."

He said he believed it was a straightforward request for a public meeting.

"This is not an isolated event, and the more people talk about it the more it will be understood," he said.