Levee Bank Information
The most significant piece in Renmark Paringa Council's Flood Strategy was to utilise its 38km levee network by conducting remediation works. This levee network was originally built in 1959 by the South Australian Government following the infamous 1956 Flood. Many of the levee banks throughout the network had not been engaged since the 1974 flood and were in need of remediation.
Remediation of the levee banks consisted of firstly assessing what condition each of the banks were in and understanding what level they were currently able to withstand.
The second stage of remediation was determining what each levee bank needed to built to an Australian Height Datum (AHD) level of, develop a priority list of levee banks to be remediated based on how soon the toe (bottom) of the levee would be engaged first and what infrastructure each levee bank was protecting.
The third stage was requesting all Riverland earthmoving companies to attend a meeting at Council in October 2022 to invite them to be part of the levee remediation project to keep our community safe. This meant that these companies all had to prioritise Renmark Paringa Council in their works schedule to ensure that the levee banks were adequately prepared for the rising River Murray levels for when the peak hit eventually in late December 2022.
In total, Council had 41 contractors and 40 suppliers join us in our efforts to protect our community. 150,000 tonnes of levee building material was excavated and utilised to remediate Council’s 38km levee network, 50 pieces of plant equipment was utilised daily and in total the levee banks remediation team worked 7 days per week, 12 hour days for a 10 week period.
In addition to the levee network Council also installed DefenCell along the Renmark Riverfront to protect infrastructure and the businesses along Murray Avenue. This work was completed by Council’s outdoor team, the South Australian State Emergency Services and a strong workforce of Tongan men and women kindly seconded from Costa Group. The installation of DefenCell along the Riverfront was pivotal in Council’s preparedness to the flood as it highlighted to the community Council’s commitment to protecting all those within the 38km levee network.
By December 2022, the levee banks were built to a level of 250 GL plus 300mm of freeboard. This resulted in varying finished Australian Height Datum (AHD) heights based on where the bank is located.
Below Council has prepared a suite of documents to assist community in understanding the levee network better.
Renmark Paringa map of the levee network
Lyrup map of the levee network