Management of flood risk is essential to limiting the impacts of flooding on the community in balance by maintaining the benefits of occupying the floodplain to the society and the benefits of flooding to the environment. Floodplains are strategically managed for the sustainable long-term benefit of the community and the environment, and to improve community resilience to floods. Best practice requires the consideration and management of flood impacts to existing and future development within the community. It aims to improve community flood resilience using a broad risk management hierarchy of avoidance, minimisation, and mitigation to:
- limit the health, social and financial costs of occupying the floodplain
- increase the sustainable benefits of using the floodplain
- improve or maintain floodplain ecosystems dependent on flood inundation.
Flooding can cause significant damage, both tangible and intangible. Best practice promotes understanding flood behaviour so that the full range of flood risk to the community can be understood, effectively communicated and, where practical and justifiable, mitigated. It facilitates informed decisions on the management of this risk, and economic investment in development and infrastructure on the floodplain. Floodplain risk management specifically considers the consequences of flooding as they relate to human occupation of the floodplain.
The Liverpool Local Government Area (LGA) is traversed by two major river systems, the Georges River and the Nepean River, and many of their tributary creeks and waterways systems. Management of all flood prone lands within the LGA are governed by the State Government’s Flood Policy and Floodplain Development Manual 2005. Council has developed Flood Studies and Floodplain Risk Management Studies and Plans (FRMSP) for all major waterways within the LGA to guide sustainable development of flood prone lands affected by flooding.
The Liverpool Local Government Area (LGA) is located on a number of floodplains, with many areas subject to flooding.
Flooding can cause significant damage to the built and natural environment, so Council has adopted plans to safeguard flood-prone areas in the Liverpool LGA. These plans, accessible below, have been prepared in accordance with the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy.
Additional information about floodplain management is available at the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment website.
Annual Dam Safety Standard Reports
- Annual-Dams Safety Standards Report Amalfi-Park-Detention Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Cecil Park Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Daruk Park Detention Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Whitford Road Retarding Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Banks Road Retarding Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Hoxton Park Basin
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Horningsea Park Detention Basin 11C
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Cecil Park Basin 3A
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Greenway Drive Retarding Basin 10A-B
- Annual Dams Safety Standards Report Cecil Hills Retarding Basin 100
Council has prepared the Anzac Creek Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan. Anzac Creek is a small tributary of the Georges River with a catchment area of 10.6km2 lying entirely within the Liverpool Local Government area.
The study and plan were prepared in accordance with the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy, as detailed in the Floodplain Development Manual (NSW Govt, 2005) and the requirements of current legislation governing the management of vegetation and floodplains.
The purpose of the Floodplain Management Study and Plan is to provide Council with:
- An adopted Floodplain Management Study and Plan for the Anzac Creek catchment that addresses existing, future and continuing flood problems
- A basis for sound management of land within the Anzac Creek catchment and ensure that Council's flood management policies are consistent with current legislation and best practice in relation to floodplain management
- An adopted Floodplain Management Plan from which funding assistance can be sought from various state and commonwealth agencies to enable implementation of the plan.
Council has prepared the Cabramatta Creek Floodplain Management Study and Plan. The study area comprises the Cabramatta Creek catchment including Cabramatta, Hinchinbrook, Maxwells and Brickmakers Creeks. The study and plan were prepared in accordance with the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy, as detailed in the Floodplain Management Manual (NSW Govt, 2001) and the requirements of current legislation governing the management of vegetation and floodplains.
The purpose of the Floodplain Management Study and Plan is to provide Council with:
- An adopted Floodplain Management Study and Plan for the Cabramatta Creek catchment that addresses existing, future and continuing flood problems
- A basis for sound management of land within the Cabramatta Creek catchment and ensure that Council's flood management policies are consistent with current legislation and best practice in relation to floodplain management
- An adopted Floodplain Management Plan from which funding assistance can be sought from various state and commonwealth agencies to enable implementation of the plan.
Download a copy of the Cabramatta Creek Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan here.
The Georges River has a catchment area of 960km2, and a population of approximately 1 million people. The river itself is about 100km in length and has a number of important tributaries, such as Cabramatta Creek, Prospect Creek, Harris and Williams Creek, Salt Pan Creek and the Woronora River.
The Georges River Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan was jointly commissioned and adopted by Liverpool, Bankstown, Fairfield and Sutherland Council.
The study area includes all the floodplains of the Georges River in the Liverpool, Fairfield and Bankstown Council areas, together with the floodplains upstream of the Woronora River junction in Sutherland Shire.
The purpose of the Floodplain Management Study and Plan is to provide Council with:
- An adopted Floodplain Management Study and Plan for the Georges River floodplain that addresses existing, future and continuing flood problems
- A basis for sound management of land within the Georges river floodplain and ensure that Council's flood management policies are consistent with current legislation and best practice in relation to floodplain management
- An adopted Floodplain Management Plan from which funding assistance can be sought from various state and commonwealth agencies to enable implementation of the plan.
Download a copy of the Georges River Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan Volume 1 and Georges River Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan Volume 2 here.
Council has prepared the Austral Floodplain Management Study and Plan. The study area comprises the Kemps Creek and Bonds Creek catchment areas within the Liverpool local government area. The study and plan were prepared in accordance with the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy, as detailed in the Floodplain Management Manual (NSW Govt, 2001) and the requirements of current legislation governing the management of vegetation and floodplains.
The purpose of the Floodplain Management Study and Plan is to provide Council with:
- An adopted Floodplain Management Study and Plan for the Kemps Creek and Bonds Creek catchment that addresses existing, future and continuing flood problems
- A basis for sound management of land within the Kemps Creek and Bonds Creek catchment to ensure that Council's flood management policies are consistent with current legislation and best practice in relation to floodplain management.
- An adopted Floodplain Management Plan from which funding assistance can be sought from various state and commonwealth agencies to enable implementation of the plan.
Download a copy of the Austral Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan here.
Council has prepared the Liverpool CBD Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan. The study covers an area of the Liverpool CBD approximately from Terminus Street in the south to Campbell Street in the north and is bound by the Great Southern Railway to the east and Bathurst Street to the west. The study and plan were prepared in accordance with the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy, as detailed in the Floodplain Development Manual (NSW Govt, 2005)
The purpose of the floodplain management study and plan is to provide Council with the following:
- A plan for the Liverpool CBD that addresses existing, future and continuing flood problems
- A basis for sound management of land within the CBD to ensure that Council's flood management policies are consistent with current legislation and best practice in relation to floodplain management
- A basis from which funding assistance can be sought from various state and commonwealth agencies to enable implementation of the plan.
Download a copy of the Liverpool CBD Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan here
The Cabramatta Creek Flood Study and Basin Strategy Review was prepared by Bewsher Consulting Pty Ltd for Liverpool City Council. The study reviews flood behaviour in the Cabramatta Creek catchment. This includes the establishment of a new computer model, analysis of flood behaviour over different time periods, and a review of the performance of Council’s detention basin strategy to mitigate the impacts of catchment development.
Download and view the Cabramatta Creek Flood Study and Basin Strategy Review, 2011.
The South Creek catchment is a significant tributary of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and is located about 40km to the west of the Sydney Central Business District. The South Creek catchment is generally bounded by the suburbs of Windsor in the north, Narellan (near Camden) in the south, Penrith in the west and Blacktown in the east. South Creek flows in a generally northerly direction for about 70km.
Download the entire study:
Flood Information
Liverpool City Council is supporting the State Emergency Service as the lead agency for anyone affected by the February flood event.
Please visit their website ses.nsw.gov.au or call 132 500 if you need assistance with evacuation or damage to your home.
Council will prioritise the collection of waste and debris material in coming weeks.
Parts of Casula Parklands are closed until further notice.
