Tuggerah Lakes flood: Gov, council at war over emergency plan

It has been a shocking year of inaction as a blame-game has dragged on while the flood-devastated Central Coast still awaits a new emergency plan.

One year after shocking floods devastated the Central Coast — leaving hundreds of homes inundated and property destroyed — a flood management plan to mitigate future risks hasn’t been completed.

But Central Coast Council and the NSW Government are at loggerheads, doubling down on a bitter blame-game over who is responsible for the plans.

The Entrance state Labor MP David Mehan grilled the NSW Government’s lack of response 12 months on from the February 2020 floods that left parts of the Central Coast community in ruin.

A massive 102,000 claims valued at $973 million in estimated losses were recorded by the Insurance Council of Australia following flooding and storms across NSW last February.

Aerial drone shots of Tuggerah Lakes/The Entrance Channel and the flooding in the region. Picture: @photoslog

In a December 15 response to Mr Mehan, Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said the NSW State Emergency Service is “currently preparing an updated flood plan for the Central Coast.

“Consultation between the NSW SES, the Bureau of Meteorology and Central Coast Council is ongoing in relation to flood warning levels,” Mr Elliott said. “Once completed the revised flood plan will be circulated to the Local Emergency Management Committee for consultation.”

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Mr Elliott said NSW SES would conduct community engagement once plans were endorsed to “ensure the community is educated in their flood risk”.

Mr Mehan said he was appalled by the government’s inaction.

“I am shocked by the lack of action from the NSW Government to complete a Flood Management Plan for Tuggerah Lakes,” Mr Mehan told the Central Coast Express Advocate. “It is 12 months after the floods and residents are still relying on a plan that expired three years ago and failed during the last major floods.”

Mr Mehan quizzed the NSW Government in parliament last week, calling on Resilience NSW to address community concerns.

MP David Mehan at The Entrance. Picrture: Supplied

“There needs to be a revised, multi-agency response and we need it now,” he said.

“Clearly the systems in place do not work — the government warned residents of minor flooding forecast which were wrong and resulted in serious losses.”

Suspended Central Coast Mayor Lisa Matthews said it was disgraceful that a report was yet to be released.

“The community was promised some answers and the community are yet to get those answers,” she said. “There are people still dealing with issues from the floods — what is the plan for the lake?

“Is this as good as it gets?”

Ms Matthews was mayor at the time of the floods and came under fire with many locals blaming the council for its lack of action regarding dredging and the opening of The Entrance Channel.

She released a video of herself wading through the floodwaters to get to a council meeting, hitting out at critics who said she had not done enough.

Ms Matthews said a State Government expert panel was established to look at water quality in Tuggerah Lakes, questioning why a management plan wasn’t added to the responsibilities of the panel.

“The low lying areas such as Chittaway Bay are concerned about flood mitigation,” she said. “I hope the panel is dealing with both these issues. When you speak to locals, they say we need a channel opening and a permanent solution. There’s no quick fix here, but we need a plan.

“We need the report on what actions are to be taken for Tuggerah Lakes and what the costings are. It’s a state government asset and council are the caretakers.”

But Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch said it is Central Coast Council at fault — with an emergency plan still not submitted to the council’s Local Emergency Management Committee.

“The Flood Emergency Plan is the responsibility of Central Coast Council and I am disappointed that very little progress has been made since the horrific flooding event we witnessed in February 2020,” Mr Crouch argued.

The government secretary for the Central Coast said the council-developed Flood Emergency Plan will be submitted to the Local Emergency Management Committee, chaired by Central Coast Council’s chief executive, for endorsement at the next available meeting.

Mr Crouch argued the claim the flood plan was awaiting the Emergency Services Minister’s sign-off was incorrect, as there was no need for his involvement as the plans were an operational undertaking.

Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch.

A Resilience NSW spokesman also rejected suggestions the government department was responsible for the Flood Management Plan, saying it “worked collaboratively with Central Coast Council to provide immediate support to individuals and households, establish evacuation centres and a Disaster Welfare Assistance Point (DAP) at the Entrance”.

“Resilience NSW assisted people impacted by the event with 112 Household Goods Grants and 14 Structural Grants for a total of $413,168,” the spokesman said.

Chittaway Point’s Ben Weber hit national headlines and was hailed a local hero during the floods when he drove his excavator onto North Entrance beach to create a passage from The Entrance Channel to the ocean to avoid further flooding.

Ben Weber, of Chittaway Bay, took an excavator onto North Entrance Beach to help hundreds of people unblock The Entrance Channel during torrential rain yesterday. Photo Jeremy Piper

Mr Weber told the Express Advocate he wasn’t surprised that locals are yet to see a flood plan come to light.

“Since last year, we have seen the dredges come in for a while but nothing much else,” he said.

“It’s always the way it’s been, there’s always empty promises to appease the residents at the time. They say what people want to hear and then put it on the back burner.

“It’s a shame, this area should be the jewel in the crown for the Central Coast but it’s not looked after. It’s holding back development, infrastructure and job security.”

Mr Weber is moving to Toowoon Bay in a few weeks and said the state of the lake was a major factor in his family’s decision to leave.

“We are sick of the state of it. I also know people that have moved up to Lake Macquarie for the better waterway,” he said. “It’s such a shame because Tuggerah Lakes has so much potential.”

Mr Weber managed to dig at North Entrance beach for around three hours on February 9 2020 before council rangers and police ordered him off the beach. He said he didn’t end up receiving a fine and had no regrets.

“At the time I didn’t even worry about any repercussions,” he said. “It was an emergency and anyone else with an excavator at their disposal would have done the same thing.”

Ben Weber, of Chittaway Bay, took an excavator onto North Entrance Beach to help hundreds of people unblock The Entrance Channel during torrential rain during February floods.

A Central Coast Council spokeswoman told The Express Advocate MPs had confused the roles of the Floodplain Risk Management Plan, Flood Emergency Plan, Emergency Management Plan, Local Flood Plan and Coastal Zone Management Plan: “it is important to note that they are not the same”.

“The SES Northern Zone are responsible for preparing the Flood Emergency Management Plan documents for the Central Coast and we understand they are currently being updated,” the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman refuted claims the council manages the Local Emergency Management Committee: “The NSW SES is the lead in flooding and storm emergencies — LEMC and Council staff are stakeholders that will consult and collaborate with the SES.”

“The Local Emergency Management Committee does not drive NSW SES to develop plans, it provides information as the Floodplain Risk Management Plans are developed and collaborates with SES in developing the Flood sub-plans,” she said. “Developing Floodplain Risk Management Plans is the responsibility of Council — developing Emergency Management Plans is the responsibility of the NSW SES.

“The Tuggerah Lakes Estuary Management Plan is the current certified Coastal Zone Management Plan which aims to rehabilitate the Tuggerah Lakes estuary and its catchment to support ongoing health and vitality and protect against future impacts.”