Attended by local State MPs, the SES and police, and Central Coast Council staff, the meeting focussed on preparation and response to future flood events.
Mehan said the SES acknowledged that residents around Tuggerah Lake did not receive text message warnings and evacuation orders during the most recent flooding event and said steps are being taken at a national level regarding telecommunication in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“The SES also said that Community Action Teams are to be established where telecommunications are likely to go down in the event of flooding,” he said.
In other important outcomes: Council will update the 2014 Tuggerah Lakes Flood Risk Management Study which will also explore flood mitigation measures; The Entrance Channel Opening Strategy will become part of the Local Flood Plan and be made public; and a flood education marker will be installed at Saltwater Creek Park to provide visual education on past flood levels and what new flood warning levels look like on the ground.
Mehan said changes made following the 2020 flood have seen new flood warning levels adopted for Tuggerah Lakes which see agencies respond sooner.
“Lowering of the moderate flood level, which is the level at which homes become impacted, from 1.8. to 1.3m means sandbag points and evacuation centres open in a more timely manner,” he said.
“Flooding is a fact of life on the Central Coast and this meeting is an important part of ensuring we continually improve our preparation and response,” Mehan said.
A spokesperson said Council welcomed the opportunity to join with other stakeholders in discussing flood mitigation and preparedness, with the meeting providing “a productive dialogue” between relevant authorities in an effort to improve their joint approach to flood preparedness.
Council’s Director Environment and Planning, Alice Howe, said the meeting was also an opportunity to clarify future actions Council is already, or will be, undertaking.
“Council has received funding from the NSW Government to review and update the 2014 Tuggerah Lakes Flood Study which will inform an updated Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan,” she said.
“The updated study will be able to take into account intensified development within the catchment since the last study.
“It will not only update anticipated flood frequencies and heights, but also identify flood velocities within the floodplain to better understand current flood risks.
Howe said Council has also completed the Tuggerah Lakes Entrance Management Study which included development of an Interim Entrance Management Procedure.
“This procedure is supported by flood intelligence tools that provide real-time predictive lake level modelling and data to ensure a proactive and informed response from Council when flood events are predicted.
“This Interim Procedure will be included in the SES’s Central Coast Local Flood Plan, which provides guidance on flood response.”
Howe said the Interim Procedure is intended to guide Council’s channel management until an Entrance Management Strategy can be completed through the Tuggerah Lakes Coastal Management Program.
“Community input will be sought as part of upcoming consultation on the Coastal Management Program, which is currently in development,” she said.
The Tuggerah Lakes Entrance Management Study was prepared by the NSW Government’s specialist advisor, Manly Hydraulics Laboratory, and in consultation with relevant government agencies and departments, and can be found in full on Council’s website.
Howe said there was also discussion of the NSW Government’s Voluntary House Raising Program but that “to date, no properties in the Central Coast have successfully accessed this program”.
Terry Collins