Flemington Racecourse flood wall worsened disaster in 2022

The type of damage the flood wall may have caused includes destroyed furniture, skirting boards, electrical work and stock losses for businesses.

Melbourne Water CEO Dr Nerina Di Lorenzo said the impact of the wall on homes, which flooded an average of 80 centimeters during the event, did not justify tearing it down.

“The evidence does not support the removal of the wall, given that the average impact on residential properties was 1.7 centimeters,” he said.

Di Lorenzo acknowledged that the wall mitigation works, which were also built by the Victoria Racing Club with the approval of Melbourne Water, It didn’t work as well as expected. He said the water authority was examining options including levees, pipelines and better emergency management.

Friday’s report was the final and long-awaited part of Melbourne Water’s review after the racecourse wall sparked widespread community anger when the track remained pristine as residents walked through their muddy homes.

Outrage erupted after former Victoria Racing Club chief executive Dale Monteith praised the flood wall and posted “then and now” photos of previous flooding at the racecourse on X.

“I am very happy to have left a legacy for the future of Flemington. It was always going to happen, but it was ignored before,” she wrote in a since-deleted post.

Antoinette Bufalino, a resident of Maribyrnong, which was flooded in October 2022 and a member of the Maribyrnong Community Recovery Association, was shocked by the findings of Friday’s report and called for the wall to be taken down.

Bufalino has lived facing the Maribyrnong River for 22 years and believes the impact of the flood wall was even more severe. “That wall has changed everything. They don’t want to hear what we have to say,” he said.

The racecourse wall has been a point of tension for the community since the Victoria Racing Club submitted plans for its construction in 2003.

Residents campaigned against it, arguing that erecting the structure around a natural floodplain would push water into their homes. It was built in 2007 after then Labor Planning Minister Mary Delahunty quashed a bid by Maribyrnong, Melbourne and Moonee Valley councils to block it.

The flood wall was approved with Melbourne Water modeling showing it would not increase the risk to people and property if certain compensatory measures were taken.

Di Lorenzo said he could not comment on decisions made almost 20 years ago. “That was a model that was completed before the time of the iPhone, but it was the best information at the time,” he said.

“We have much better information today and we have 20 years of development.”

A Victoria Racing Club spokesperson said the organization would review the report’s findings and work with authorities.

“Approval for the flood wall and flood mitigation works was obtained in 2004… and these works were completed in 2007 in accordance with the approvals granted,” they said.

Hydrologist Geoff Crapper worked at Melbourne Water and its predecessor, the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, for three decades until 2003 and was among those who opposed the construction of the flood wall.

“The flood level rise of up to 3 centimeters in Maribyrnong township caused by the Flemington flood wall was the amount of flood rise that all experts agreed would occur,” he said.

Opposition water spokesman Tim McCurdy called the report a “damning indictment of Labor” for ignoring the concerns of councils and residents two decades ago.

“Because compensatory works failed to offset the increased flood levels due to the new wall, dozens of additional homes were flooded,” Mr McCurdy said.

“Money will need to be spent on repair works to reduce water levels during flooding, as should have been the case.

Charging

“Regardless of whether Melbourne Water or the Victorian Government pays for these works, we all know that at the end of the day it will be the taxpayer who foots the bill.”

Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell has called on the state government to demand the removal of the racecourse wall.

“The people of Kensington and Maribyrnong should be furious at the state Labor government for approving the flood wall at the racecourse as this report clearly shows it made the flooding worse,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Water Minister Harriet Shing said: “We will work with Melbourne Water to address the report’s findings and identify areas to improve flood mitigation, communication and response efforts.”

The flood review panel’s initial report, released in October, recommended Melbourne Water conduct more regular reviews of flood models, called for improvements to forecasting and warning systems, suggested property buybacks may be necessary and found the risk flooding at Rivervue Retirement Village in Avondale Heights. where 47 properties were flooded, could worsen with climate change.

Melbourne Water this week released a new flood model for the Maribyrnong River catchment, predicting the risk now and in 2100. The most significant changes are in some residential areas of the suburbs of Maribyrnong and Kensington.

The Melbourne Water review, ordered by former premier Daniel Andrews, was criticized last year for an apparent lack of independence and the limited scope of its terms of reference.

A wider parliamentary inquiry was subsequently launched following an extensive report by Age and the support of Coalition MPs, the Greens and all MPs. His final report has not yet been submitted.

The October 2022 flood affected more than 600 homes and businesses in Maribyrnong, Avondale Heights, Kensington and Ascot Vale. It was the third worst flood on record on the Maribyrnong River; Only the floods of 1974 and 1906 affected the area more.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.