Flood Management and Drainage Strategy
Floods are a natural and inevitable event. We cannot always control them. Therefore, we must learn how we can live with them while minimising risks to public health and safety, property and infrastructure.
The Flood Management and Drainage Strategy defines five flood management objectives and outlines actions to achieve these and guide priorities and expenditure by Melbourne Water.
The Port Phillip and Westernport Region faces significant flood management and drainage challenges that require a coordinated and collaborative approach by flood managers and the community. In the region:
- More than 100,000 properties are known to be at risk from flooding
- 82,000 of these properties are at risk of flooding from overland flows
- More than 40,000 of these properties contain buildings or dwellings that are at risk of flooding above floor level
- On average, the annual damage caused by flooding has been estimated to be $245 million.
Flood Management and Drainage Strategy documents
Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 1 (PDF, 1.3mb)
- Introduction
- Background
- What is flooding?
- Types of flooding in the region
Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 2 (PDF, 988kb)
- History of flooding
- Flood damage
- Managing floods
- Responsibilities for flood management across the region are shared
Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 3 (PDF, 979kb)
Flood management objectives:
- Objective 1: Completing the knowledge base
- Objective 2: Potential long term future pressures on existing drainage systems
- Objective 3: An agreed approach to managing existing regional flood problems
Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 4 (PDF, 949kb)
Flood management objectives:
- Objective 4: Enhanced community education, flood awareness and preparation
- Objective 5: Agreed responsibilities and improved collaboration between flood management agencies
- Glossary
The strategy has been prepared following discussions between government departments, councils, emergency service organisations, and other agencies about how we can improve the management of flood risk in the Port Phillip and Westernport Region.
Reports
- Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 1 (PDF, 1.3mb)
- Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 2 (PDF, 988kb)
- Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 3 (PDF, 979kb)
- Flood Management and Drainage Strategy Part 4 (PDF, 949kb)
You will need Adobe Acrobat to access the above PDF documents. 