Council to develop urban stormwater plan, Kerang drainage study

Published on 24 February 2025

Gannawarra Shire Council will engage renowned civil engineering and surveying firm, Maker ENG to complete a comprehensive study of Kerang’s township drainage infrastructure and develop the municipality’s urban stormwater management plan.

Council awarded the experienced company the tenders to complete the Gannawarra Urban Stormwater Management Plan and Kerang Drainage Study, worth $272,350, which will assist Council in better managing stormwater and improve the quality of water discharge into local waterways.

“As we saw with the Christmas Day 2023 and early January 2024 flash flooding events, sections of our urban stormwater networks struggle at times when our towns receive daily rainfall totals that exceed monthly or seasonal averages,” Mayor Garner Smith said.

“Council is committed to working with our residents to improve our urban stormwater network, with the development of these documents a key step in this process.”

As part of the development of the Kerang Drainage Study, Maker ENG will conduct hydrological and hydraulic modelling of the Kerang township and areas where future residential and industrial development is forecast to highlight deficiencies in the current network.

This data will be used to develop designs for improvements focussing initially on the northern end of Tate Drive, a mitigation solution for the Ninth Street area, and upgrades with potential gravity overflow for the Redgum Drive catchment.

“These areas are greatly impacted any time there is significant rainfall, which impacts the residents in these parts of Kerang and their ability to travel in and out of affected areas,” Mayor Smith said.

“Council will work closely with residents, North Central Catchment Management Authority and Goulburn-Murray Water to develop practical solutions that will alleviate the impact of future significant rainfall events.”

Maker ENG will also develop Council’s first Stormwater Management Plan. A new requirement under the Environmental Protection Act 2017 (Victoria), this plan will influence future works, plans and strategies for urban stormwater networks in Cohuna, Kerang, Koondrook, Lalbert, Leitchville, Murrabit and Quambatook.

“Council will work with residents in each of these towns to develop this plan, which will guide how Council manages our urban stormwater networks in the future,” Mayor Smith said.

ABOVE: The proposed Kerang Drainage Study will be used to develop designs for drainage improvements for Kerang, including the southern end of Marne Street, which flooded on Christmas Day 2023.