Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

The North Central region had between four and seven times its long term rainfall average in January this year, and Castlemaine had five times its long term average. The rainfall between September and January was unprecedented, and came into an already wet catchment.

These figures formed the background to the talk given by Damian Wells, the CEO of the Catchment Management Authority to the FOBIF AGM on Monday night.

Flood damage was the theme of the talk, and there were two recurring issues:

The first was: it’s better to have assets ‘out of harm’s way’ than to have them in flood plains where they have to be protected.

The second was the flack copped by the CMA over its alleged neglect of waterways ‘causing’ the floods. Members will remember that this note was struck in Castlemaine, when it was claimed in the local press in January that plantings along creeks, or failure to clear creeks of vegetation, had raised flood levels in the town. [See our post of May 13]

Muckleford Creek over Lewis Rd, September 2010. The floods have been a boon ecologically, but although Victoria had eight major floods last century, Councils do not have adequate maps of flood levels. So building continues on flood plains. Photo: Bronwyn Silver

On the first issue, Damian noted that town levies are the responsibility of councils, but that rural levies protecting property are a long standing maintenance problem and the source of continual disputes as to who is responsible for them. The lower Loddon has 200 kilometres of levies, and these failed in 117 places in January. It has been estimated that restoration of levies could cost $650 million. He praised the government’s offer to buy out farmers in vulnerable areas, as a more practical long term solution to inevitable floods than prohibitively expensive protection measures.

On the second theme, Damian noted that the CMA had been ‘howled down’ in Creswick for its supposed responsibility for floods there, but subsequent investigations had completely vindicated its position. Bridges and road culverts are major causes of water blockages and subsequent level rises, but the major problem is building on flood plains. The CMA is continually challenged by developers in VCAT when it opposes building in such areas.

He agreed that peak flood level models should be incorporated into planning schemes on a state wide basis, to avoid the situation of people building on flood prone land. Incredibly, he noted that current modelling of flood risk zones is inadequate. [In spite of the fact that Victoria had serious floods every 10-20 years in the last century— in 1909,1916,1917 1974 1956 1974, 1990, and 1993— it seems we still don’t have good maps telling us where not to build!]

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Coincidentally, the Comrie Report on the 2010-11 floods has just been released. Although the report concentrates on the performance of emergency services, it does contain some enlightening remarks which underline Damian Wells’s  argument. For example:

‘It is important to understand that the application of appropriate land use planning controls as part of municipal planning schemes is considered to be an effective means of minimising flood damage. Municipal councils are required to take into account flood risk when considering appropriate development on floodplains.’ [page 6]

Expedition Pass spillway, January 2010. The sheer volume of water guarantees that flood plains will flood. Repeated enquiries have urged tighter building controls on floodplains, to minimise asset damage. Photo: Bernard Slattery

The Comrie report makes reference to a document with which we were not familiar: the 1998 Victoria Flood Management Strategy. This document, currently under revision, is available here

Among other things, the Strategy says

‘Appropriate land use strategies are the most effective means of reducing the growth in flood risk and damages. With the introduction of Victoria Planning Provisions [VPPS], the ability of Victorian councils to carry out their land use planning role will be strengthened. The VPPs provide uniform statewide policy and control for development and works on floodplains. They require that flood risk must be considered in the preparation of planning schemes and in making land use planning decisions, and that land affected by flooding must be shown on planning scheme maps.’ [Page 9]

It seems from the substance of Damian Wells’s talk to the AGM that this has not happened.

The Parliamentary Environment and Natural Resources committee is due to present a report on the floods later in the year.

At the AGM on Monday July 11, Public Officer Chris Morris announced that the following nominations had been received before the meeting:

President: Marie Jones

Vice President: Nev Cooper

Secretary: Bernard Slattery

Treasurer: Bronwyn Silver

Committee Members: Frank Panter, Kylie McIndoe

As the number of nominated candidates equalled the number of positions on the committee, according to the Constitution, the above were declared elected.

The rather sad sign below is a marker on Morgan’s Track Chewton of the Ecological Thinnings Trial conducted by Parks Victoria beginning in 2003.

Despondent sign at Morgan's Track, July 2011: we hope that ongoing research on this trial will prove valuable. We have been assured that the research continues. Photo by Bronwyn Silver

The trial was proposed by the Environment Conservation Council when it recommended the establishment of new Box Ironbark reserves in 2001. The intention is to experimentally aim at the restoration of a pre white settlement forest structure by strategically thinning selected plots in the aim of getting a woodland of more widely spaced, larger trees, and a healthier, more diverse understory. In fact, our woodlands are on the whole gradually thinning themselves as weaker trees die: so the trial is an effort to speed up the work of Nature.

FOBIF did not oppose the trials, even though we thought that in our region they were misconceived, and the money and resources could have been better spent elsewhere—on weed control, for example. We did concede, however, that the accompanying monitoring and research could prove very valuable for our understanding of these ecosystems. For a more detailed account of our views, you can read an item from our 2008 newsletter here.

FOBIF members did a prowl around the Morgan’s site on July 8. This area has always been rich in wildflowers, and it looks like the coming spring will not disappoint. Even in the dead of winter there’s plenty to see, as the pictures show.

Even in the dead of winter, there's plenty to see at Morgan's Track. Photos by Bronwyn Silver, July 2011

And the effect of the trial? Monitoring up to 2008 cautiously suggested that the thinning had up to that point been positive in encouraging understorey diversity.

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