Richmond Valley Council is exhibiting its Draft Richmond Valley Flood Risk Management Study & Plan, along with a draft amendment to the Richmond Valley Development Control Plan.
Council say the Flood Risk Plan is an investigation into the impacts of flooding on our community and proposes a number of recommendations to help manage, mitigate and adapt to the risks of flooding.
“These documents will be on exhibition from 5 May 2026 until 8 June 2026.
“For more information, visit one of our drop-in Community Information Sessions, which will be held at: Evans Head Library Meeting Room—10am to 1pm on Wed 20 May Coraki CWA Rooms—3pm to 6pm on Wed 20 May.
Casino Community Cultural Centre—9am to 11am on Thu 21 May Woodburn Community Building—1pm to 3pm, Thu 21 May. Written feedback and submissions are welcome.
From the website:
Richmond Valley Council is seeking community feedback on the-
- Draft Richmond Valley Flood Risk Management Study & Plan (Draft Risk Plan), and
- Draft Richmond Valley Development Control Plan 2021 (Transitional Flood Provision) Amendment (Draft DCP Amendment).
The Draft Risk Plan has been prepared in line with the NSW Flood Policy and NSW Flood Risk Management Manual and examines current & future flood risk while providing information and understanding of flood behaviour to mitigate, manage and/or adapt to the impacts of flooding.
A number of options to manage flood risk were investigated by the study with recommendations on their implementation. These are broadly grouped into:
- Flood Modification Options—physical engineered solutions designed to alter flood behaviour
- Property Modification Options—modifications to existing buildings and the imposition of planning controls
- Response Modification Options—aimed at increasing the ability for people and emergency services to respond appropriately in times of flood through education & awareness and having enhanced flood warning & evacuation procedures.
The Draft Risk Plan will be exhibited with a Draft DCP Amendment which aims to retain the existing Flood Planning Controls as a transitional arrangement until new controls can be developed under the Flood Planning Constraint Category (FPCC) framework.
The Draft Risk Plan and Draft DCP Amendment will be open for community feedback from Tuesday, 5 May 2026 until Monday, 8 June 2026. Documentation associated with these drafts will be available for inspection via the “On Exhibition” page of Council’s Website – www.richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au .
Any person may make written submissions during the exhibition period. Submissions should be addressing to the General Manager and sent by:
- post to—Richmond Valley Council, Locked Bag 10, CASINO NSW 2470, or
- email to—[email protected] , or
- on-line—completing an on-line submission form, or
- hand to—Council’s Customer Service Centres at Casino or Evans Head.
Community Drop-in Information Sessions
Council will be joined by representatives from BMT consulting, who prepared the Draft Risk Plan, for four (4) community drop-in information sessions to be held at-
- Evans Head Library Meeting Room, Woodburn Street Evans Head—Wednesday, 20 May 2026 from 10am to 1pm.
- Coraki CWA Rooms Richmond Terrace Coraki—Wednesday, 20 May 2026 from 3pm to 6pm.
- Casino Community and Cultural Centre, Walker Street Casino—Thursday, 21 May 2026 from 9am to 11am, and
- Woodburn Community Building, River Street Woodburn—Thursday, 21 May 2026 from 1pm to 3pm.
For all enquiries, please contact Council on (02) 66600300.
Summary of the Draft Flood Risk Management Plan
The Draft Plan will be publicly exhibited from Tuesday, 5 May 2026 until Monday, 8 June 2026.
Submissions – Any person may make a written submission during the exhibition period by sending it to Richmond Valley Council by:
* Post to: – Locked Bag 10 Casino NSW 2470
* Email: – [email protected]
* Hand delivery: – at either of Council’s Customer Service Centres in Casino and Evans Head.
* Online: – Through the submission page on our website
What the Draft Plan is about
The Draft Plan examines flooding across the Richmond Valley Local Government Area (LGA) and sets out how flood risk should be understood, managed, and reduced over time. It is based on the latest flood modelling contained within the Richmond Valley Flood Study 2023, climate change guidance, and Flood Risk Management policy. It aims to support better land-use planning, improve emergency response, and prioritise practical flood risk management actions to better manage, mitigate and adapt to flooding.
The Richmond Valley and its flood problem
The Richmond Valley LGA is located within one of the largest coastal river systems in NSW. Towns such as Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Broadwater, Rappville, and Evans Head are located on a broad, low-lying floodplain. Flooding in the Valley is typically slow-moving but long-lasting. Water spreads across a very wide floodplain and drains slowly due to natural constraints near Broadwater and the coast. This leads to long periods of inundation, early road closures, and significant isolation of communities during large floods.
How flood risk was studied
An advanced computer flood model was used to simulate ten different flood events, ranging from frequent floods to the largest possible flood. The modelling incorporates updated LiDAR ground height data, bathymetric river surveys, rainfall estimates, dam and levee failure scenarios, and climate change allowances.
This provides a detailed picture of where floodwaters go, how deep they become, how fast and in what direction they are flowing, and how dangerous conditions are across the Richmond Valley.
What the study found
Flooding presents a significant and ongoing risk throughout the Richmond Valley. In the worst possible flood (the Probable Maximum Flood or PMF) more than 5,700 buildings would be flooded above floor level. In a 1%AEP (or 1 in 100 year ARI) flood event around 1,350 buildings would experience above-floor flooding.
Average annual flood damage is estimated at about $20.6 million. Damage increases sharply in larger floods, particularly in Coraki, Woodburn and Broadwater, where flood depths and hazards increase substantially.
The Defined Flood Event for planning
The study confirmed the continued use of the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) flood event, plus climate change allowances and a 500mm freeboard, as the basis for land-use planning. This is known as the Defined Flood Event (DFE) and aligns with NSW planning policy.
The study also recognised that much larger floods occur and must be addressed through emergency planning and community preparedness.
Assessment of Climate Change
Although there is considerable uncertainty associated with impacts from climate change, it is important to have an understanding of the potential impacts climate change may have on flood risk. Australian Rainfall and Runoff 2019 recommends focusing on potential changes in rainfall intensity and sea level rise for the assessment of likely impacts from climate change. The study has adopted a climate change allowance of 10% increase in rainfall and a 900mm allowance for sea level rise (which closely aligns with the SSP2-4.5 climate change scenario).
FPCC Framework
The Draft Plan recommends adoption of the Flood Planning Constraint Category (FPCC) framework to guide safe development decisions. The purpose of this framework is to distinguish areas suitable for more intensive development from those where constraints are significant. Compared to the Floodplain Hazard Categories currently used, the FPCC framework enables clearer differentiation of risk levels and more targeted development regulation.
This framework consists of a map which classifies land into four (4) categories (FPCC1 having extreme flood risk, FPCC2 having high flood risk, FPCC3 having medium flood risk, and FPCC4 having low flood risk). These categories are defined (see Table 1) according to flood extent, hazard, frequency, evacuation risk, flood function, flood planning areas and emergency response considerations across a range of flood frequencies to derive a single map – see figure 1. This draft FPCC mapping is available to view on Council’s Intramaps Spatial Viewer.
An amendment will ultimately be made to the Development Control Plan to incorporate an FPCC Flood Planning Control matrix which will guide what development types are suitable within each of the FPCC categories (and sub-categories) and to define the appropriate development standards for example the minimum floor level. A sample FPCC Flood Planning Control matrix is provided at Figure 2.
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