Australia’s waterfront precincts are what makes the nation special, however these popular locations are the most at risk of flooding as extreme weather and elevated rain levels become more commonplace.
The Clarence Valley Council (CVC) is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Clarence River, most of the region is floodplain and at risk of regular flood events.
Proactive flood management
Over the past four years Clarence Valley Council has embarked upon a major planning process for floodplain management, which will result in several Floodplain Management Plans to cover the whole area. During the 2022 flood events, the township of Maclean was saved from inundation when water levels rose within millimetres of the towns flood barriers.
Levees saving the day
The Maclean waterfront precinct is protected with a levee system that utilises permanently integrated flood barriers, concealed within the levee structure. These retractable flood barriers are a valuable asset and are permanently installed on-site.
The barriers are designed to be an extension of the existing infrastructure, customised to suit the surroundings. To deploy, the barriers are slid along a stainless steel track and locked into place.
Retractable flood barriers are most commonly used to close and protect pedestrian walkways and vehicular access points, and they can be manually operated or automated with push-button controls.
“The retractable flood barriers we integrated into our levee system saved the township from being completely inundated,” a Clarence Valley Council spokesperson said.
“We have been upgrading our flood mitigation system to include retractable flood barriers over the past four years. Working with AWMA, we have refined the design to suit our on-site and operational requirements. Now, they have been well-proven!”
Built to last
AWMA’s FloodFree Retractable Barriers are purposedesigned, engineered and manufactured in Australia under an internationally accredited ISO 9001 quality management system.
Constructed from structural marine grade aluminium the barriers are lightweight yet very strong, are safe for public areas and require very little maintenance. These barriers can easily be deployed by operators in emergencies without the need for special tools or equipment.
Project partners receive full design support to ensure the product delivered is engineered and certified to withstand site specific worse case scenarios for expected flood water height, debris loading and deployment times.
Retractable Flood Barriers are installed within existing infrastructure then slide horizontally to seal large openings. These can include levee access points, railway crossings, roadways, pedestrian access or building entrance points. There are numerous well-proven, Australian made Flood Barrier designs that provide effective isolation from rising flood and stormwaters.
This sponsored editorial is brought to you by AMWA Water Council Solutions. For more information, visit www.floodfree.com.au
