Work is underway on the $8.2 million South Lismore Flood Mitigation Project, with Lismore City Mayor Isaac Smith today inspecting the progress.
“This project, which will help reduce the devasting effects of flooding in Lismore, has been discussed for decades and it is great to be here today to see that work has finally began,” he said.
“As we saw in the 2017 flood, the levee alone will not keep floodwaters out of our
CBD if we get too much rain.
“This new flood mitigation work will go a long way to protecting our city from future floods.”
Flood modelling (Worley Parsons, 2016) suggests the project should reduce peak water levels in the CBD, North Lismore and South Lismore by as much as 100mm in a 1-in-100-year flood event.
The project, funded by the NSW Government, will divert floodwater overflow from Leycester Creek around the Lismore Regional Airport. This includes the excavation of 410,000m³ of material from a 58-hectare parcel of Council land.
The excavated material will be used to fill nearby industrial land within Lismore’s floodplain and facilitate the expansion of the South Lismore Industrial Estate.
Director of Infrastructure Services Peter Jeuken said work is expected to take 12 months to complete.
“This project was endorsed by the Lismore Floodplain Management Committee and is part of a range of measures detailed in the Lismore Flood Mitigation Plan to help safeguard the community and increase disaster resilience,” he said.
SEE Civil had been appointed to carry out the work, and while Council is overseeing the project, NSW Public Works Advisory will project manage the construction on Council’s behalf.
Council has developed a Your Say Lismore page on its website with information and a Q&A section where residents can ask questions. Affected landowners can also call Council direct with any queries.
During preliminary works Council relocated two major sewer mains, which were ‘bedded’ (backfilled with material to protect the pipe) using 1500 tonnes of crushed glass from the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre.
“This is a great example of reusing a waste material plus there is a significant cost saving to the project from using this bedding material opposed to traditional crushed rock,” Mr Jeuken said.
“Council and SEE Civil are consulting with affected landowners this week to ensure they are fully informed and aware of the scope of the works.”
