Council
30 September, 2023
Funding sought for Fernvale and Moore flood mitigation projects
AFTER securing joint Federal and State funding for major culvert upgrades on Gregors Creek Road and Murrumba Road, Somerset Regional Council will apply for grant funding for flood mitigation drainage projects in Fernvale and Moore.
Somerset Regional Recovery Group representative Mayor Graeme Lehmann said that Council had been successful in multiple funding applications under the Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Fund (QRRRF) in the past.
“We want to keep that momentum going, and by attracting more QRRRF funding to Somerset, we can continue to make our community safer. Our region is no stranger to flooding events and we aim to improve its resilience through these, and similar, flood mitigation projects.
“With government support, Council has already invested heavily in making our area more flood resilient through bridge and other infrastructure upgrades, providing information via our flood cameras, and new flood certificates,” the mayor said.
Council commissioned hydrology experts Engeny Water Management to undertake the Somerset Rural Towns Flood Mapping project in 2022 as recommended in the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. Drainage projects in towns including Toogoolawah, Fernvale and Moore have been identified in the Engeny mapping report.
“We were successful with a federal funding application for a $2 million upgrade to urban drainage in Toogoolawah earlier this year, and detailed planning is now underway for this project,” Mayor Lehmann said.
Council is now looking at the next highest priorities identified in the Engeny report and will seek funding for major drainage upgrades in the Carralluma Crescent and Banks Creek Road area of Fernvale and in the northern part of Moore township.
