Campaspe Shire Council has committed to spending $560,000 to become disaster-ready if an application for funding from the Disaster Recovery Fund’s second round of support is unsuccessful.
At its February meeting, council endorsed the purchase of additional pumps and equipment to respond to future flood events — either with its own money or through the Federal Government fund.
Applications for the second round of funding close this month.
The government set aside $1 billion over a five-year period to the DRF from July last year.
Round two will deliver up to $200 million of funding for disaster-risk reduction and resilience initiatives, with funding matched by state, territory, local government and other applicants, where possible.
Guidelines for the applications were released in December last year, and project proposals close on Wednesday, March 20.
The decision to apply for funding comes after the 2022 flood event in Echuca when council and residents became aware of the insufficient number of mobile water pumps available in an emergency.
Twenty-six locations along the Campaspe and Murray rivers require defence by pumps around Echuca, and the investment is considered necessary for council to defend the community from future flood events.
Eighteen pumps, ranging in size from six to 10 inches, 10 mounted on trailers, are on the shopping list.
There are also two trailers fitted with cranes, for loading and unloading of pumps, and a further seven trailers for the existing pumps owned by council that are housed at its Tongala works depot.
Seven float switches that automatically switch the pumps on and off, depending on the stormwater pit water levels, will also be purchased at $500 apiece.
The capital costs to make council disaster-ready include $25,000 for project management and $8000 for administrative matters.
Another $70,000 will be spent on shedding to house the equipment, but the bulk of the $500,000 spend is on the pumps and trailers — almost $400,000 of the budget.