About the plan
The Floodplain Management Plan for the Lower Namoi Valley Floodplain 2020 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 Lower Namoi 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:
- Lower Namoi Valley - Plan map (PDF, 593.01 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management zones map (PDF, 3334.51 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Floodway network map (PDF, 2641.72 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Ecological assets map (PDF, 8342.72 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Existing flood works map (PDF, 415.39 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Peak flood flow distribution (1971) map (PDF, 343.52 KB)
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 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.
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone AD (PDF, 159.55 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone AID (PDF, 98.17 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone B (PDF, 123.45 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone C (PDF, 106.91 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone CU (PDF, 121.9 KB)
- Lower Namoi Valley - Management Zone D (PDF, 135.12 KB)
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, 132.83 KB).
For more information about how floodplain management plans work and the planning process refer to Developing floodplain management plans.
Plan status
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 Natural Resources Commission has audited the plan under Section 44 of the Water Management Act 2000. The audit report is available on their website.
Community consultation
The department road tested the major concepts of the plan with key stakeholders during a targeted (informal) consultation process over the period Tuesday 6 October 2015 to Monday 21 March 2016.
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 Monday 13 February to Thursday 13 April 2017. The department notified stakeholders via a media release, the Have Your Say portal, newspaper advertisements and notification letters to key stakeholders and landholders whose properties within Management Zones AD, AID and D within the plan area. The department also hosted individual appointments with interested stakeholders to greater detail about how the rules and assessment criteria would be applied to flood works in each zone. Appointments were hosted in Narrabri and Wee Waa in March and April 2017.
A total of 51 submissions were received during the public exhibition period. The main areas of concern identified in the submissions were the method for mapping the draft management zones, the location of the draft management zones and the inclusion of existing works within the draft management zones.
All submissions were considered by an Interagency Regional Panel. A number of changes were made to the draft plan including refinements to the management zones (where supported by the management zone method including hydraulic, ecological and/or existing planning arrangements criteria), an additional rule to allow landholders to proportionally reduce the extent of Management Zone AD (based on hydraulic modelling outputs), and minor re-wording to clarify the intent of the flood flow corridor rules in Management Zone AID.
Supporting documents
- Rural floodplain management plans: Technical manual (PDF, 2950 KB)
A general description of the method employed for development the preparation of floodplain management plans under the Water Management Act 2000. - Background document (PDF, 6283.15 KB) to the Floodplain Management Plan for the Lower Namoi Valley Floodplain and Appendices (PDF, 7725.44 KB)
A detailed description of how the method presented in the Technical manual has been applied across the Lower Namoi Valley Floodplain and should be read in conjunction with the Technical manual. - Floodplain management under the Water Management Act 2000: A guide to the changes (PDF, 143.12 KB)
A guide to the transition of floodplain management planning from the Water Act 1912 to the Water Management Act 2000 in NSW. - An overview of floodplain management plans under the Water Management Act 2000 (PDF, 145.17 KB)
A general, plain English explanation of the key provisions of floodplain management plans.
Assistance
If you require assistance in reading these documents, please contact 1300 081 047 or water.enquiries@dpie.nsw.gov.au
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 contained in floodplain management plans are published on the NSW legislation website.
The State of New South Wales, including the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (“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.