The transfer of control of the Maribyrnong River’s flood warning services to the Bureau of Meteorology is on schedule for delivery by mid-2026.
State parliament’s Environmental and Planning Committee’s final report into 2022’s floods recommended the transition and upgrade of flood gauges be ‘prioritised’.
The report found residents along the Maribyrnong did not receive enough warning when the area was in danger of flooding.
People in the suburb of Maribyrnong were sent six official notifications ahead of floodwaters peaking on October 14.
Towns across the Murray basin hit by floods at the time received upwards of 20 warnings.
Kensington Banks locals received no official flood warning.
The EPC report also found warning services presented statewide accessibility barriers for non-English speakers and people with disabilities.
Spokespersons for the Bureau of Meteorology and Melbourne Water said both agencies are collaborating with Victoria’s State Emergency Service on the transfer of services.
“Work underway involves transitioning the responsibility for riverine flood forecasting and warning services for Greater Melbourne catchments from Melbourne Water to the Bureau of Meteorology and strengthening flash flood community warnings across Greater Melbourne,” a Melbourne Water spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the end result will be consistent with other state and national services, provide more advanced BoM-led technology, and enable local community flash flood warnings on the VicEmergency channels, social media, apps and online.
“[It will also] allow Melbourne Water to focus time and resources on the threat to communities from flash flood events and strategic floodplain management,” the spokesperson said.
Maribyrnong City Council, Chief Executive Officer, Celia Haddocktold the Westsider “Council and the SES continue to work together on emergency management planning and supporting the community to understand their flood risk.”
“To date this has included drop-in sessions and door-knocks by SES Volunteers occurring within the Maribyrnong township in recent months.”
The Greater Melbourne catchment includes the Bass, Maribyrnong, Werribee and Yarra Rivers, Dandenong Creek and the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands.
It remains the only catchment in Australia where the BoM is not in charge of flood forecasts and warnings.
The EPC report called on the Allen government to request a public update on the transfer for warning services from the federal government by the end of the year, but it’s uncertain whether this will happen.
The Allen government has until the end of January to make its formal response to the report.
