About the plan
The Floodplain Management Plan for the Border Rivers Valley Floodplain 2020 (plan) commenced on 11 September 2020 and includes management zones, rules and assessment criteria for granting or amending approvals for flood works within the plan area.
Information on the plan, including amendments made in June 2024, is available for viewing as described below.
Floodplain management plan
The Floodplain Management Plan for the Border Rivers Valley Floodplain 2020 is a detailed legal instrument written in the required statutory framework.
Maps
The following maps are included within the plan and are available for download.
- Border Rivers Valley – Plan map (PDF. 3.6MB)
- Border Rivers Valley – Management zones map (PDF. 9.9KB)
- Border Rivers Valley – Floodway network map (PDF. 8.7MB)
- Border Rivers Valley – Ecological assets map (PDF. 11.2KB)
- Border Rivers Valley – Existing flood works map (PDF. 3.7MB)
- Border Rivers Valley – Peak flood flow distribution (1976) map (PDF. 4.5MB)
You can view the plan boundary, management zones and ecological assets as a spatial map.
You can also find the floodplain management plan spatial dataset on the NSW Government’s SEED portal for use in your own geographic information system.
Rules and assessment criteria
An overview of the key factors, rules and assessment criteria for each management zone is provided in the summary sheets which are available for download below. The summary sheets are included as a guide only.
- Border Rivers Valley - Management Zone A (PDF. 137KB)
- Border Rivers Valley - Management Zone B (PDF. 110KB)
- Border Rivers Valley - Management Zone C (PDF. 108KB)
- Border Rivers Valley - Management Zone CU (PDF. 98KB)
- Border Rivers Valley - Management Zone D (PDF. 105KB)
The plan includes a transitional provision to mitigate any disadvantage applicants may face as a result of significant delays in the assessment of the flood work applications around the time the plan commenced. More information about this transitional provision is available in a fact sheet (PDF, 108.03 KB).
The rules for enhancement flood works in each of the northern floodplain management plans changed on 21 June 2024. Read a summary of the amendments (PDF. 132KB).
For more information about how floodplain management plans work and the planning process refer to Developing floodplain management plans.
The plan commenced on 11 September 2020 and is due for replacement on 30 June 2031.
Amendments to the plan came into effect on 21 June 2024. You can find the amendment order and current version of the plan on the NSW Legislation website.
The department road tested the major concepts of the plan with key stakeholders during a targeted (informal) consultation process over the period Wednesday, 3 August 2016 to Wednesday, 14 September 2016. Stakeholders from a range of industry groups—including landholders, Aboriginal communities, environmental interests, consultants and government—were invited to attend workshops in Goondiwindi and Mungindi. These workshops introduced attendees to the main elements of the draft plan, including the boundary, management zones, and the rules for granting or amending flood work approvals.
The feedback received from targeted consultation was considered by an Interagency Regional Panel prior to the preparation of the plan for public exhibition.
Community input into the preparation of the plan was invited during public exhibition over the period Friday 15 December 2017 to Friday 9 March 2018. The department invited input via a media release, the Have Your Say portal, newspaper advertisements and notification letters to key stakeholders and landholders whose properties within Management Zones A and D within the plan area. The department also hosted individual appointments with interested stakeholders to provide greater detail about how the rules and assessment criteria would be applied in each management zone. Appointments were hosted in Boggabilla, Goondiwindi, Boomi and Mungindi in February and March 2018.
A total of 15 submissions were received during the public exhibition period. The main areas of concern identified in the submissions were the location of the draft management zones, the inclusion of specific approved flood works within the draft management zones and the thresholds described within the draft assessment criteria. All submissions were considered by an Interagency Regional Panel and minor refinements were made to the draft management zones (where the changes were supported by the management zone method including hydraulic, ecological, cultural and/or existing planning arrangements criteria).
- Rural floodplain management plans: Technical manual (PDF. 3MB)
A general description of the method employed for the preparation of floodplain management plans under the Water Management Act 2000. - Background document (PDF. 5.6MB) to the Floodplain Management Plan for the Border Rivers Valley Floodplain and Appendices (PDF. 7MB)
A detailed description of how the method presented in the Technical manual has been applied across the Border Rivers Valley Floodplain and should be read in conjunction with the Technical manual. - An overview of Floodplain Management Plans under the Water Management Act 2000 (PDF. 145KB)
A general, plain English explanation of the key provisions of floodplain management plans. The overview is a summary that should be read in conjunction with the draft plan. - Floodplain management under the Water Management Act 2000: A guide to the changes (PDF. 143KB)
A guide to the transition of floodplain management planning from the Water Act 1912 to the Water Management Act 2000 in NSW.
Spatial map disclaimer
The spatial maps of floodplain management zones contained on this website (“Spatial Maps”) are produced for information purposes only. The authorised versions of the maps are contained in the floodplain management plans published on the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (“the department”) website.
The State of New South Wales, including the department, does not give any warranty, guarantee or representation about the accuracy, currency or completeness of any information contained in the Spatial Maps (including, without limitation, any information included in the Spatial Maps which was provided by third parties). The State of New South Wales (including the department) provides the Spatial Maps without assumption of a duty of care to any person.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the State of New South Wales (including the department) excludes all liability in relation to the information contained in the Spatial Maps or for any injury, expense loss, or damage whatsoever (including without limitation liability for negligence and consequential losses) suffered or incurred by any person acting, or purporting to act in reliance upon any information contained herein.
Applicants for flood work approvals use the Spatial Maps at their own risk when making decisions relating to the Spatial Maps. They should make their own enquiries with the department to confirm the impact of management zones on their application.