title: Goornong Flood Study council: greater-bendigo state: vic category: constraint classification: MAJOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf
- web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt
Goornong Flood Study
The Goornong Flood Study is a constraint-setting project for Goornong and surrounding rural settlements because it will define where floodwater is expected to move, how deep it may become, and which homes, roads, rail assets and waterways sit in the highest-risk areas (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). Its practical planning effect is not immediate construction: the City states that the study and flood management plan are intended to understand flood behaviour, test possible risk-reduction measures, inform planning controls, support emergency management and guide the parallel Goornong Structure Plan process (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Background
The study sits within Greater Bendigo’s post-flood recovery and climate-resilience work rather than as a standalone drainage exercise. The City’s Annual Environment Report records support for communities recovering from the October 2022 and summer 2023/2024 flood and storm events, including engagement with seven flood-impacted communities and emergency planning workshops in Marong and Goornong (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.136). The same report identifies delivery of the Goornong Flood Study and Waterway Flood Mitigation Management Plans as current and future work, with co-funding from the Australian Government Disaster Ready Fund Round 2 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.137).
The project page states that the City is working with Cumulus Engineering to complete the study, and that the work has two linked parts: a flood study that models how water moves through the land, and a flood management plan that evaluates ways to reduce flood risk (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The City describes the reports as the first flood reports prepared for the Goornong area and says they are required by the Victorian Planning Scheme, which means the study is expected to move from technical modelling into statutory planning controls rather than remain only an emergency-management reference (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Analysis
Flood Modelling as the Base Constraint
The core mechanism is mapping. The study is tasked with updating maps showing where floods may occur and how deep floodwater could become, using past flood events including 2011, 2022 and 2024 to calibrate the maps (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). That matters because flood mapping is the bridge between lived flood experience and land-use regulation: once flood extent and depth are accepted, they can inform planning scheme overlays, floor-level requirements, emergency access assumptions and infrastructure-priority decisions (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
The study area is broader than the Goornong township. The project page says it covers Goornong and surrounding suburbs including North Huntly, Bagshot, North Bagshot, Fosterville, Wellsford and Avonmore (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The listed waterways are Bendigo Creek, Crabhole Creek, Reedy Creek, Sandy Creek, Yankee Creek, Five Mile Creek and Gunyah Creek (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). This makes the study a catchment-scale rural-township constraint, not simply a local drainage review for a small settlement footprint.
The most important planning consequence is that model outputs may convert into changes to flood controls in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme. The project page says the reports will be used to improve flood controls in the planning scheme, help emergency services plan for floods, support funding applications for community-supported flood protection projects, create public flood-safety information and assist flood-risk assessment for insurance purposes (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). In plain terms, the maps are the measuring tape: once the City and technical agencies agree where the water goes, later decisions about building design, land capability, emergency routes and mitigation spending can be measured against that shared map.
Relationship to Structure Planning and Servicing
The study is directly linked to Goornong’s structure-planning pathway. The Council Plan progress report lists action CP 3.2.3 to progress structure plans for Elmore, Goornong and Huntly; that action was marked in progress at 50 percent, with the Manager Strategic Planning responsible and a due date of 30 June 2026 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207). The same progress note states that the Goornong Flood Study and the Wastewater Servicing Report are underway, and that once completed the draft Goornong Flood Study can be completed (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207). Read with the project page, the likely planning mechanism is that flood mapping and wastewater servicing must be settled before a robust Goornong Structure Plan can identify where growth, infill, public infrastructure and constrained land should sit (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207).
The study therefore affects land-use sequencing even before any new flood overlay is exhibited. If the flood model identifies higher flood depth or more frequent access disruption in parts of the settlement, the structure plan may need to steer sensitive uses away from those locations, require elevated floor levels, reserve land for drainage or waterway corridors, or avoid placing critical community infrastructure where access is unreliable during flood events (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The Council progress report also ties the Goornong structure-planning work to a Wastewater Servicing Report, which means flood risk is being assessed alongside a hard servicing constraint rather than in isolation (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207).
There is a source limitation here: the available documents do not provide parcel-level flood extents, modelled depths, affected hectare counts, road-closure thresholds, railway exposure, dwelling counts or proposed overlay boundaries. The project page says the study will identify areas most at risk, including homes, roads and train lines, but it does not publish the resulting counts or risk rankings in the extracted source (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). Until those outputs are available, the planning significance can be described at mechanism level but not quantified to the standard needed for final structure-plan yield or infrastructure analysis.
Flood Recovery, Mitigation and Funding Pathway
The study is part of a larger recovery pipeline created after recent flood and storm events. The Annual Environment Report records approximately $2.8 million of emergency and immediate reconstruction works across 350 locations in 2024/2025 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.136). The Council Plan progress report separately lists action CP 2.1.2 to complete 2023/2024 flood recovery repairs in line with federal funding; this was marked in progress at 85 percent, with physical works completed and claim information being collated (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.201).
That sequence matters. Recovery repairs restore damaged assets; flood studies identify the future hazard; flood management plans test interventions; funding applications then seek money for mitigation works that have technical and community support (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.136-137; Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The City explicitly says the study does not mean the City or others will undertake infrastructure improvement projects right away, which is a key planning caveat (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The study is therefore an evidence and prioritisation tool, not a funded works program.
The Council’s broader water and flood program also shows that flood mitigation projects can have long delivery timeframes. The Annual Environment Report lists Racecourse Creek Levee and Bendigo Creek Levee works as in progress, with detailed design now expected by June 2026 after earlier tender-plan expectations for June 2025 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.145). Although those projects are not Goornong works, they show that flood mitigation in Greater Bendigo can move through feasibility, design, tender planning and funding stages over multiple years (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.145). For Goornong, the practical implication is that identifying a mitigation option in the Flood Management Plan would not itself remove the underlying planning constraint unless delivery, maintenance responsibility and funding are also resolved (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Community Evidence and Model Validation
Community input is being used as a technical validation source, not only as consultation. The project page says the City wants community feedback to make sure the flood maps are right and to understand how floods affect people, and it asks residents to provide information on flood experience and possible solutions (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). It also states that first-hand accounts are helping check flood maps for accuracy and that a preliminary flood map presentation on 28 April 2026 included a Cumulus Engineering presentation followed by small-group discussions to confirm model accuracy before final maps are released later in 2026 (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
This is important because rural flooding often depends on local features that broad datasets can miss, such as culverts, levees, driveway crossings, creek debris, low points and informal drainage paths. The map-based engagement categories ask residents to identify places where flooding prevents access for more than one day, creek erosion or sediment, culturally or historically significant creekside places, recreational sites, plant and animal habitat, and built water-management objects such as bridges, drains, dams, levees, pumps and floodways (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). That evidence can change the practical interpretation of a model: a technically shallow flood extent may still be a serious settlement constraint if it isolates homes, damages roads or blocks emergency access for more than a day (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
The engagement program is staged. The project timeline records that survey and map input opened on 23 September 2025, drop-in sessions occurred on 9 October 2025, emergency planning workshops ran from November 2025 to May 2026, survey and map input closed in February 2026, flood maps were drafted in February 2026, feedback on draft maps opened in early to mid 2026, and community outcome reporting was scheduled for mid 2026 (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). A flood deep-dive workshop was held on 19 February 2026, a community drainage and flooding webinar was held on 30 April 2026, and a third emergency-planning workshop was held on 12 May 2026 (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Climate Change and Residual Risk
The study includes climate change effects, with the project page stating that climate change can cause worse weather and more flooding (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). This matters because planning controls based only on historic flood behaviour may understate future exposure. The City is also framing the project within climate resilience: the Annual Environment Report places delivery of the Goornong Flood Study under the Climate Resilience theme and lists community emergency planning and resilience activities in Goornong among delivered or supported work (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.136-137).
The study also appears to recognise residual risk. The project page says the study will not stop flooding because flooding is a natural event and can exceed the capacity of drains or other systems (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). For planning purposes, that is a crucial distinction: mitigation may reduce consequences, but it does not make flood-prone land equivalent to unconstrained land. A later structure plan or planning scheme amendment should therefore distinguish between avoidable exposure, design-manageable exposure, emergency-access exposure and residual exposure after any proposed mitigation works (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Statutory Effect and Property Implications
The project page states that some properties may be affected if they are near a creek or waterway and have flooded before, because new studies might lead to changes in planning rules to help keep people safe from future floods (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The likely planning pathway is that accepted mapping informs flood-related planning scheme controls, but the extracted sources do not specify which overlays or schedules may be introduced or changed (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
The February 2026 agenda provides general policy context from another flood-related planning assessment: Greater Bendigo’s local floodplain policy directs development into areas with no flooding or low-level inundation risk, avoids development in high-risk locations where the Urban Floodway Zone is the appropriate control, and protects waterways with vegetated buffer zones at least 30 metres wide along each side of a waterway (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.160-161). That policy context is not Goornong-specific in the available extract, but it indicates the kind of planning levers that may become relevant once the Goornong flood mapping is settled (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.160-161).
The statutory effect is therefore prospective rather than final. The study may inform future planning scheme amendments, structure-plan boundaries, siting controls, floor-level controls or development conditions, but the current source set does not include an exhibited amendment, adopted flood overlay schedule, final flood report or final flood management plan (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). Any current property-level interpretation should be treated as preliminary until the final maps and planning response are published (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
Current Status
As at the captured project page, the Goornong Flood Study was in progress, preliminary flood maps had been drafted in February 2026, feedback on draft flood maps was open or scheduled for early to mid 2026, and community outcome reporting was scheduled for mid 2026 (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt). The Council Plan progress report presented to the 16 February 2026 council meeting recorded the related Goornong structure-planning action as 50 percent complete and identified both the Goornong Flood Study and Wastewater Servicing Report as underway (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207). Waterway Flood Mitigation Management Plans were also in progress at 50 percent, with ecological assessments completed, agency and community workshops underway, and Aboriginal Waterway Assessments scheduled (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.201).
Dependencies
- Blocks: Finalisation of the Goornong Structure Plan is constrained by completion of the flood study and wastewater servicing work because the Council Plan progress report identifies both as underway in the same structure-plan action (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207).
- Blocked by: Final planning-control conclusions are blocked by completion and publication of the Flood Study Report and Flood Management Plan Report, including final flood maps and tested mitigation options (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
- Informed by: The study uses past floods including 2011, 2022 and 2024, community mapping, workshops, technical work by Cumulus Engineering, and climate-change assumptions (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt).
- Implements: The project implements Greater Bendigo’s climate-resilience and flood-risk-reduction work program, including Disaster Ready Fund co-funded delivery of the Goornong Flood Study and Waterway Flood Mitigation Management Plans (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.137).
- Conflicts with: No direct conflict is documented in the available sources, but any future settlement-growth direction in Goornong will need to be reconciled with flood extents, flood depth, emergency access, waterway buffers and wastewater servicing constraints (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.207).
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
The source set identifies several institutional links but does not provide the final governance map. The study is being delivered by the City with Cumulus Engineering and has co-funding from the Australian Government Disaster Ready Fund Round 2 (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.137). The broader Council Plan program includes a separate action to review Bendigo Creek flood modelling in partnership with the North Central Catchment Management Authority, with a modelling consultant appointed, LIDAR data gathering commenced and expected completion by April 2026 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.200). The Waterway Flood Mitigation Management Plans also involve agency and community workshops, ecological assessments and scheduled Aboriginal Waterway Assessments (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.201).
Traditional Owner and waterway governance are relevant but under-documented in the available Goornong-specific sources. Greater Bendigo reports ongoing work with DJAARA on the Reimagining Bendigo Creek Plan and creek restoration projects, and the annual report also notes that no waterway reserves were co-managed by DJAARA or Taungurung against a 2026 target of two (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.135, 145). The Goornong study area includes multiple waterways, so the scheduled Aboriginal Waterway Assessments may become important for identifying cultural values, waterway management priorities and constraints on mitigation works (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, p.201).
Gaps in This Analysis
The available source set is thin for a MAJOR constraint page. The manifest includes the project page and a council agenda, but it does not include the final Flood Study Report, final Flood Management Plan Report, preliminary flood maps, model calibration report, hydraulic modelling assumptions, mitigation option assessment, community workshop summary reports, Aboriginal Waterway Assessments, ecological assessments or Wastewater Servicing Report (Source: web-research-L0-goornong-flood-study-project-page-527e408d5e.txt; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-agenda-february-16-2026.pdf, pp.201, 207). Because those documents are missing, this page cannot quantify affected land area, number of dwellings exposed, road or rail closure thresholds, proposed planning overlay boundaries, mitigation costs, benefit-cost ranking, construction sequencing or structure-plan yield impacts.
A critical corpus gap should be recorded in _gaps for the Goornong Flood Study technical package: final flood study, flood management plan, flood maps, workshop summaries, Aboriginal Waterway Assessments, ecological assessments and wastewater servicing material. Without those documents, the analysis can explain the planning mechanism and current dependencies, but it cannot yet provide parcel-level statutory or infrastructure consequences.