Melbourne Water statement in response to Victorian Ombudsman report

Melbourne Water welcomes the release of the Victorian Ombudsman’s investigation into flood risk at Rivervue Retirement Village and Kensington Banks. We thank the Ombudsman for undertaking this important work.

We express our heartfelt sympathy to all residents affected by the Maribyrnong flood in 2022. We also acknowledge the impact on residents following the updated flood modelling released as part of the Maribyrnong River Flood Review into the 2022 flood event.

Melbourne Water accepts the finding directed to us (Recommendation 11) and is committed to working with the City of Melbourne to implement it. We will also carefully review and consider the Victorian Government's response to the other recommendations outlined in the Ombudsman’s report.

We remain committed to taking timely action to raise awareness of flood risk and to mitigate future risks. This includes providing flood information to the public, increasing community awareness, and supporting better planning decisions.

In October, Melbourne Water released the first four new flood models for the local government areas of Merri-bek, Yarra, Glen Eira and Darebin, in partnership with local councils. These models were released for community feedback and consultation—an important step in our process to update all flood models across Greater Melbourne to incorporate new flood and climate change information.

Melbourne Water is continuing the Maribyrnong River Catchment flood mitigation study, which includes developing options to help reduce flood risks for both Rivervue and Kensington Banks, including levees. We will continue to engage with residents, local councils and Government to establish a shortlist of options for mitigation. Community input on the options and evaluation criteria is open now until 7 December 2025.