Burnett River and Tributaries Catchment Flood Study

Seeking community experiences and knowledge

Introduction

The Burnett River is located in the Wide Bay-Burnett region and has a catchment area of about 33,000 square kilometres. Major flooding in the Burnett River is relatively infrequent, however, under favourable meteorological conditions, heavy rainfalls can result in significant floods. These floods can cause considerable impacts to townships and rural areas along the Burnett River and its major tributaries. During the major flood event of January 2013, significant flooding throughout the Burnett River catchment impacted homes, infrastructure and agricultural land.

In late 2023, the Queensland Government and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) announced more than $18 million in funding for a range of flood studies and resilience projects across 36 Councils under the QRA’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Under this funding arrangement, the Burnett Catchment Council’s Working Group (comprising Bundaberg Regional, North Burnett Regional, South Burnett Regional, Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire, and Gympie Regional Councils) are working together to deliver the Burnett River and Tributaries Catchment Flood Study (the Flood Study).

The Flood Study

The purpose of the Flood Study is to provide a better understanding of flood behaviour throughout the Burnett River catchment which, in the future, will be used to improve flood management and response and provide up-to-date information for land-use and infrastructure planning.

The Flood Study will be carried out over the next two years and the community will be invited to share their knowledge and experiences related to floods in the catchment throughout the Flood Study.

Community invited to share knowledge

We are now collecting and reviewing data for Phase 1 of the Flood Study, and we would like to hear from you about your experiences with floods. Information we would like you to share includes flood marks, photos, videos, newspaper clippings, and observations about flood behaviour, such as timing, depth, and extent of the flood waters.  The information you provide will help build our understanding of the catchment and flood behaviour.

Please provide your information, including photos, videos and observations before 25 October 2024.

• Visiting the website at https://anz.planengage.com/burnettriver or scanning the QR code.
• Attending an in-person Information Session planned as detailed below.

Information Session

If you would like to talk to the project team and share your experiences and knowledge in-person, we encourage you to attend a drop-in information session. 

• Thursday 10 October 2024 - 9.30am - 3.30pm - Murgon Town Hall, Cnr Lamb and Gore Street Murgon

• Friday 11 October 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm - Goomeri Library, 35 Moore Street Goomeri

View other venues and dates for the information sessions being held across the five regional areas here.

What else you may see us doing?

As part of gathering data for this flood study, you may notice our project team carrying out various activities throughout the catchment including surveys and infrastructure assessments. 

Support

If you have been flooded before, and are still experiencing emotional stress and need support, contact:

• Phone Lifeline’s crisis hotline on 13 11 14
• Phone Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
• Phone Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349
• Or if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person call 13 YARN.

Housing assistance may also be available to residents affected by disaster events.