Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton (right) discussed plans for Central Darling Shire Council’s Darling River Flood Mapping project with General Manager Greg Hill and Administrator Bob Stewart at the Western Division Councils of NSW meeting on Monday.

Central Darling Shire Council will be better prepared for future flood events, thanks to a $100,000 investment from the Coalition Government for a flood mapping project.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said the funding has been provided through the Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local stream.

This is the first tranche of the Preparing Australia Program, an investment by the Australian Government of $600 million over six years to build the nation’s resilience to natural disasters.

“We know communities are best placed to understand their unique needs and how they can best improve their resilience and reduce their level of risk to natural disasters, which is why I’m pleased that Central Darling Shire Council has been awarded this funding,” Mr Coulton said.

“The funding will be used for the Darling River Flood Mapping project, which will deliver a comprehensive plan for flood mitigation for current and future infrastructure in the shire, particularly in the townships of Wilcannia, Menindee, Tilpa and Sunset Strip.

“This will help Central Darling Shire to accurately plan for and deliver future infrastructure developments whilst taking the necessary steps to minimise the impact of floods.”

Central Darling Shire Council Administrator Bob Stewart said the most recent flood event highlighted the urgent need for flood mapping in the Shire.

“With a number of high value projects slated for Wilcannia, it is obvious that the current information is not only out of date but entirely inadequate,” Mr Stewart said.

“This funding is going to ensure flood mapping information from Tilpa to Menindee will be accurate and specialised, as opposed to the anecdotal information we have been forced to work with.

“Council is extremely grateful for this funding, which is going to have a positive impact on the future of the towns along the lower Darling.”

The Darling River Flood Mapping project was one of 158 projects across the country that shared in $150 million dollars from the Commonwealth Government.

In delivering this program, the Australian Government is not only increasing disaster preparedness and resilience, but also reducing the cost in time and money of recovery following future disasters.

There are three streams of the Preparing Australia Program:

• Preparing Australian Communities Program for projects of local significance (Communities Local program) – focussed on public risk reduction.
• Preparing Australian Communities Program for projects of National Significance – focussed on public risk reduction.
• Preparing Australian Homes Program – focussed on private risk reduction.

For more information and a full list of projects funded under Round One of the Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local stream visit: https://recovery.gov.au/disaster-risk-reduction/preparing-australia-program