Thank you to everyone who participated in our community consultation in October. Your local knowledge and shared experiences are playing a vital role in improving our understanding of flood behaviour around the township.

Why community input matters

As part of the flood study, a detailed hydraulic model is being developed to better understand how floodwaters move through the area. This model will be calibrated using the same historical flood events identified within rainfall data as well as during the community consult.

At present, there is limited surveyed flood level data available for the catchment which means that traditional validation methods alone are not sufficient.

Using local knowledge to validate the model

Because of these data gaps, community consultation is essential. The insights provided by local residents, along with the expertise of City of Greater Bendigo and North Central CMA members, are helping to confirm how floodwaters behave in and around the township during major events.

While formally surveyed flood levels would be ideal, photographs taken by community members during past floods are proving to be one of the most valuable sources of information available. These images, combined with community recollections, allow the project team to check whether the model is realistically representing flood extents, flow paths, and depths.

How photos and memories are used

As an example, the below photograph was taken during a flood event in June 2012 (not within the Goornong catchment) and has been compared with results from a high-level 1% AEP Rain-on-Grid model. While these two events are not directly comparable, the comparison demonstrates an important method that will be used throughout the validation process.

Equally important are personal recollections of flooding, such as where water first entered properties, how quickly levels rose, and which areas were cut off. These firsthand accounts help verify whether the model reflects real-world flood behaviour.

We sincerely thank the community members and stakeholders who have shared photos, stories, and local knowledge. Your contributions are critical to ensuring the flood model is as accurate and reliable as possible, helping to inform better flood planning and risk management for the future.

If you have additional flood photos or information you would like to share, please contact the project team, we welcome your continued involvement.