Quambatook levee works set to begin

Published on 20 March 2019

Works to construct the first stage of the Quambatook township levee will begin next month.

An earthen levee, approximately one metre in height, will be built adjacent to the western bank of the Avoca River from Quambatook-Boort Road to Kerang-Quambatook Road. A second levee will also be constructed adjacent to the eastern bank of the Avoca River from Quambatook-Boort Road to just past the Quambatook Recreation Reserve clubrooms.

The construction of the levee was one of the key recommendations to come out of the Quambatook Flood Management Plan, developed following the January 2011 floods.

“The January 2011 flood event was the largest on record with approximately three kilometres of temporary levee bank constructed to protect the township of Quambatook,” Mayor Lorraine Learmonth said.

“If no emergency action had been taken, the township would have been inundated by the Avoca River, resulting in evacuation and up to $10 million in structural and economic damage.

“These works will provide reassurance to Quambatook residents in times of flood, protecting both residential properties and some of the town’s key community assets.”

Stage 1 of the project is made possible thanks to funding from Council, the Natural Disaster Resilience Grant Scheme and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Stage 2 of the project, which involves extending the earthen levee adjacent to the western bank of the Avoca River from Quambatook-Boort Road to Ninyeunook Road, will be completed in the 2019/20 financial year after Council was successful in applying for further funding through the Natural Disaster Resilience Grant Scheme.