These resources complement the Flood Risk Management Manual and provide extra technical advice to support councils to understand and manage flood risk to local communities under the flood risk management framework.
General guidance
- AG01 – Administration Arrangements guidelineoutlines current roles and responsibilities in relation to flood risk management (FRM) and their legislative links, and current guidance and tools available for flood risk management.
- FG01 – Delivery under the flood risk management framework describes delivery of the flood risk management under the flood risk management framework and key steps in undertaking FRM projects and linking to technical support and guidance.
Understanding flood behaviour and managing flood risk
- FB01 – Understanding and Managing Flood Risk provides advice on understanding and managing flood risks.
- FB02 – Flood Function provides methods to determine flow conveyance and storage areas of the floodplain.
- FB03 – Flood Hazard provides methods to categorise flood hazard.
- FB04 – Incorporating 2016 Australian Rainfall and Runoff into studies supports the application of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) 2019 data to flood risk management studies in New South Wales. Also known as ARR2019.
- FB05 outlines approaches that can be used to derive ocean boundary conditions and design flood levels for flood investigations in coastal waterways considering the interaction of catchment flooding and oceanic inundation for the various classes of estuary waterways found in New South Wales and likely corresponding ocean boundary conditions:
- Modelling the interaction of catchment flooding and oceanic inundation in coastal waterways (PDF 772KB)
- Examples showing how to use the modelling guide (PDF 513KB)
- Template for documenting methods and assumptions when using the modelling guide (DOCX 81KB)
- Hourly water level data to support the use of the modelling guide (XLS 48KB).
- MM01 – Flood Risk Management Measures supports the understanding, identification and assessment of typical flood risk management measures to address the risk to the existing community and future development.
Support for flood emergency management planning
EM01 – Support for Emergency Management Planning outlines key emergency management principles for flooding. Provides advice on flood risk management information to support emergency management, flood emergency response classification of communities and considers flood emergency management constraints in decision-making.
Tools to assist council
- BT01 – Brief development tool: guidance and a tool to support brief development for studies under the flood risk management process. It is available through the NSW Flood Data Portal for registered users. (The link takes you to the portal where you can search for the tool.)
- DT01 – Flood Damage and Cost Benefit Assessment Tool: this tool was developed in partnership with NSW Treasury. It supports the assessment of FRM measures consistent with the FRM measures guide MM01. The tool is available via the NSW Flood Data Portal for registered users. (The link takes you to the portal where you can search for the tool using 'DT01'.)
Supporting local councils to manage levees
Levee Audit Methodology Guideline
Councils should maintain their levees so they are fit to meet their design purpose of reducing the frequency of flooding in the community. A key part of levee asset management is regular visual inspections of levee condition to enable issues to be identified and addressed in a timely manner through improved maintenance, rehabilitation or upgrades.
To support councils in this role, the Levee audit methodology guideline (PDF 14.48MB) provides advice on the methodology for visual auditing and inspection of levees, reporting of condition, and use of the associated Fulcrum tool to support this work. Councils wishing to access the Fulcrum tool to support inspections, or with any related questions, can contact [email protected].
Levee Owner's Guideline for NSW Flood Levee Systems
Councils should understand their levees and inspect, operate and maintain the infrastructure to ensure that they are fit to meet their design purpose of reducing the frequency of flooding in the community. To do this councils need to understand their levees and have in place an appropriate asset management process that includes operation, inspection and maintenance arrangements. An effective way of doing this is through the development of a levee owner’s manual. In addition, councils upgrading or constructing new levees under the Floodplain Management Program should update their existing (or prepare a new) levee owner’s manual.
The Levee owner's guideline for NSW flood levee systems (PDF 3.14MB) provides advice on preparing a levee owner’s manual to support documentation of the levee and its operation, inspection and maintenance requirements. Councils who have any questions in relation to the use of these guidelines can contact [email protected].
Other guidelines
- MR01 – Modelling (PDF 199KB) outlines the requirements for modelling reports and supporting information including model files to facilitate effective peer review as part of flood studies and flood risk management studies.
- Hawkesbury–Nepean floodplain management guides provide additional advice in relation to land use planning, subdivision and building in the Hawkesbury–Nepean Valley catchment:
Advice to inform flood investigations for development projects
LU01 – Flood Impact and Risk Assessment outlines considerations for assessment of flooding in investigations to support developments.