G21 Alliance Calls for Drainage Investment following recent floods
Recent emergencies across the G21 region have underscored the urgent need for increased government investment in drainage infrastructure to reduce the severity and impact of future flood events.
This summer, floods have severely impacted a number of shires including Colac Otway and Surf Coast, with communities now focused on rebuilding and recovering amidst significant challenges.
G21 Chair Cr Jason Schram said, “Our communities have shown incredible strength in the face of recent floods, and we believe that this impact could have been lessened with the right drainage infrastructure in place.”
The emergencies have highlighted the need for substantial investment to help minimise the impact of future flooding events and make recovery a smoother process. For example, the City of Geelong estimates their drainage upgrade needs are so significant that it would take close to $300 million to resolve, based on current modelling.
“Investing in drainage may seem like a run of the mill decision, but we feel it is critical infrastructure that can greatly reduce how significant flooding events impact the lives of residents in our communities,” Cr Schram said.
“We know that the flooding events like we saw this summer will happen again. By investing now and having proper measures in place to deal with large volumes of water, we are minimising the impact for our communities.”
In particular, G21 Councils are calling for:
- $5.6 million over the next ten years to upgrade the stormwater system in the Colac Otway Shire, including the main stormwater trunk along Armstrong Street to the Lake, as well as $700,000 for stormwater renewals over the same period.
- Surf Coast Shire Council is seeking $3 million to build a retention basin close to a mixed residential and commercial area in Anglesea that is at risk of flooding. Building the basin on vacant public land would protect commercial and residential properties in a known flood zone.
- Golden Plains Council is seeking $1.5 million to upgrade and improve drainage in Glen Avon Drive, Bannockburn. This would reduce overground flooding to a number of properties and support future expansion of the drainage network across other local areas.
- The Borough of Queenscliffe is seeking $300,000 to address stormwater design and replacement in residential areas in both Queenscliffe and Point Lonsdale. These areas have previously flooded and remain high risk of doing so again. Designing and replacing stormwater would protect residential properties in known flood zones.
The alliance has written to Victoria’s Treasurer to highlight these issues and seek investment to help G21communities recover and build ongoing resilience.
Media contact: Maggie Hill, 0404 196 452
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30/03/2026
G21 Alliance Calls for Drainage Investment following recent floods
Recent emergencies across the G21 region have underscored the urgent need for incr ...
