CEO Update

Dear Middleton Community,

The following has been done since the Middleton Flood Event Meeting;

• Met with a representative from the National Emergency Management Agency to advocate for this event to be linked to the Murray event.
• Met with Michelle and Michael Jones and others, 27/2/23 to look at the railway near their place, review culverts and walk the streets to gain a greater understanding of what they witnessed. The General Manager Community and Asset Manager were also in attendance along with Councillor Lou Nicholson.
  • A budget submission will be done for 2023/24 for identified drainage work.
• The CEO has been discussing the event with the SES as lead agency, they have been in discussions with the DEW Flood Unit.
  • They work closely together.
  • They have been mapping the catchment area and have indicated that the volume of water that came down was greater than that estimated by Councillor Michael Scott and detailed at the public meeting.
    • They are talking about this being a 1 in 300 or 1 in 500 year event (however this needs to be confirmed through a Hydrologist report).
  • They are working to see if based on parameters earlier warning can be provided in the future.
  • Although SES and DEW are working together, the CEO has requested through the SES lead agency to access to the team working from DEW Flood Unit and await feedback.
  • A timetable for this work has been unable to be provided at this stage.
• The CEO has had a discussion with the SA Police Zone Coordinator for Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and KI and have confirmed that the Middleton Event did not escalate to their level.
• The CEO has been told that the number of register triple 0 calls lodged for the Middleton area on the 12 November 2022 was restricted to the caravan park area.
  • With 5,500 people being on hold to triple 0 and only 30 operators it is assumed many calls did not get through
  • It is also understood that many people were not home.
  • It is also acknowledged that many calls were made to known SES volunteers but these were not recorded in the triple 0 register and therefore did not trigger additional escalations.
• The CEO has been in discussions with a company that is able to provide Hydrologist services.
  • The Principal Engineer has already toured the caravan park and Middleton area soon after the event and understands the water flow.
  • They are familiar with the 12 November event in not only Middleton but across the whole state.
  • A quote has now been received to
    • Determine the catchment area.
    • Investigate the flow that occurred.
    • Model future rainfall, the effect, and the likelihood of it occurring.
    • Determine what mitigation measures can be put in place by Council and other agencies.
      • Provide budget estimates for any future work to occur.
      • They have however stated that up stream catchment area treatments are going to prove difficult being on private land.
  • A budget variance has been presented to the 20 March 2023 Council meeting by Councillor Nicholson for Council’s consideration.
  • Resulting works will be presented to Council for their budget consideration.
• Attended the March Township and Foreshore Association to provided updates of progress.
• Determined the ownership of the Middleton Creek.
• Worked with Council Members on questions and motions to the 20 March 2023 Council Meeting.

Council Meeting – 20 March 2023

• At the Council Meeting the following items relate to the Middleton Stormwater Event
  • Questions on Notice – Councillor Nicholson – (Download here)
    • Answers have been provided for the following:

1. 'What clean-up has Council done in Middleton Creek?

2. What additional work does Council need to do in the Creek and what is the timeline for completion of this work?

3. Who owns the various segments of the creek line in the catchment area?

4. For all creeks in Alexandrina:

4.1 What are the roles and responsibilities of individual owners of the land?

4.2 What activity requires authorisation to complete, and what agency provides this?

4.3 What authority does Council have to enforce required action in the creek line?'

• Motion on Notice – Councillor Nicholson – (Download here)
  • Motion relates to
    • Hydrologist Services
    • Disaster Response Plan
    • Sending a letter to each known Alexandrina resident and business impacted by the 12 November 2022 storm event, to acknowledge the ongoing impact of the event.
    • Financial relief to flood affected residents
    • Free Waste Dumping Vouchers
    • Encourage and support residents across Alexandrina to establish personal household disaster plans
• Motion on Notice – Councillor Scott – Middleton Rates – (Download here)
  • Motion relates to
    • Middleton Storm Event - Council Rates relief
• Motion on Notice – Councillor Scott – Storm Event Roads – (Download here)
  • Motion requests
    • That roads damaged in the Storm Event of 12 November 2022, that have sections which pose a threat to road safety, receive remedial attention as soon as possible

Regards,

Nigel Morris

Chief Executive Officer