Gawler River flood management projects
The Gawler River floodplain has a history of recurrent flooding. The South Australian government has been collaborating with the Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority (GRFMA) on the Gawler River Floodplain Management Business Case - a long-term strategy to mitigate the impacts of flooding.
Four key initiatives have been identified as part of the business case:
- Increasing the height of an existing dam on the North Para River upstream of Gawler River
- Improvements and ongoing maintenance of existing levee banks
- Improved planning controls to reduce flooding of future developments
- A flood awareness and preparedness campaign
The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is committed to its involvement with these initiatives, providing support for the dam and planning control initiatives, and taking the lead on improving levee banks and the flood awareness and preparedness campaign.
Improving levee bank management
DEW has transitioned from past projects in the Gawler River to a 3-year project to improve levee bank management across the state. The project has received funding from the state government and the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund to undertake a holistic approach to levee banks from start to finish.
More information on this project can be found here.
Gawler River flood awareness and preparedness
Despite recurrent flooding along the Gawler River, recent community research commissioned by DEW has shown that community awareness and preparedness is generally low. To improve community resilience to flooding, DEW has partnered with the GRFMA and SA State Emergency Service (SA SES) to develop flood awareness and preparedness materials for the region.
