A paper to Council included a detailed assessment of the Outram floodbank which found it to be stable under expected flood conditions, meaning anticipated engineering upgrades are not required. As a result, $5.5 million that had been budgeted for resilience works in the current Long-Term Plan is no longer needed for this work.

In a second paper presented to Council today, council staff proposed $1.09 million of this funding be reallocated to the Silver Stream Capacity Maintenance project. The project is intended to improve the capacity of the Silver Stream by removing sediment build-up along sections of the stream.

$829,000 was allocated to the Silver Stream project over Years 1 to 4 of the current Long-Term Plan. However, the original budget was estimated before the final design was completed and before the full extent of earthmoving volumes was understood. As a result, the amount of material requiring removal is greater than expected, and the cost to undertake the physical works is higher than originally anticipated.

Council endorsed the transfer of $1.092 million from the unused Outram project budget to meet the Silver Stream funding gap. Reallocation of these funds now provides funding certainty and enables this urgent work to proceed.

Mr Paterson says the Silver Stream work helps protect the Lower Taieri community. “By addressing this, we are improving flood resilience for surrounding areas.”

ORC will begin work this spring to excavate dry-bed areas along a 3 km stretch between the Taieri River confluence with Silver Stream and Gladfield Road, enhancing protection for homes, farmland, and infrastructure.

“The Outram floodbank plays a critical role in protecting the community, and the latest technical assessment gives us confidence it is performing as expected,” says ORC Manager Engineering, Brett Paterson.

The remaining Outram floodbank budget will be reviewed in future annual and long-term planning processes.

You can read the Outram Floodbank Stability Assessment on the Council Meeting event: