Good morning all.
It is Wednesday, January 10, and the Goulburn River is expected to peak in Shepparton across the next couple of days.
Stay with us across the day as we bring you all of the updates as they emerge.
A reminder, the latest news will appear at the top of the story and you can scroll down for earlier updates to see how the situation has progressed.
This story is free to read as it contains urgent or emergent information relevant to public health and safety.
Please consider registering or subscribing to The News to help support important local journalism such as this.
Ensure you stay across alerts on the VicEmergency app, the Victoria SES website or by calling 132 500 if you urgently need assistance. Call 000 in an emergency and remember to never drive through or enter floodwaters.
Some handy tools to use to check how your property will be affected by certain river levels are linked below.
Goulburn Broken Community Flood Intelligence Portal: https://my.floodreport.com.au/gbcma/
SES local flood guides: https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/plan-and-stay-safe/flood-guides
If you need to contact us, please email editor@sheppnews.com.au or call 5820 3221.
UPDATE, 8pm, Wednesday, January 10: Wrap up
Below are some links to stories which wrap up what happened today and look ahead to tomorrow. We’ll see you for another day of rolling coverage tomorrow.
Wednesday wrap: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/wednesday-flood-wrap/
Infrastructure assessment: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/update-on-local-infrastructure/
Through the lens: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/galleries/gallery-photos-of-the-goulburn-and-broken-rivers-as-well-as-seven-creeks-wednesday-january-10/
Footage from the day: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/videos/watch-wednesday-january-10-flood-videos/
UPDATE, 5.45pm, Wednesday, January 10: Live broadcast
We still have a few things to touch base on before we wrap up the blog tonight, but just a note that the Greater Shepparton City Council will be hosting another live broadcast on social media from 6.30pm with Mayor Shane Sali and Shepparton ICC incident controller Ray Jasper.
Head to the council’s Facebook page to watch it.
UPDATE: 5.16pm, Wednesday, January 10: Watt Rd closed
Watt Rd is now closed between Riverview Drive Kialla and McLennan St, Mooroopna as a result of water over the road.
UPDATE: 5.10pm, Wednesday, January 10: Undera, Bunbartha, Barmah information
Undera, Bunbartha and Barmah are all expecting moderate flooding, according to Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper.
He said predictions were for no houses to be flooded, but there would be some flooding on farms.
Advice has already gone out for farmers to remove pumps from the river and to move stock to higher ground.
UPDATE: 5pm, Wednesday, January 10: Nagambie update
More water than expected poured into the Nagambie Caravan Park during the floods, with the ground across pretty much the entire caravan park covered in water.
However, unlike during the 2022 floods, no water went into cabins which were built much higher than the previous ones.
Water has, however, gone into the laundry and bathroom facilities at the park.
No-one was staying at the park at the time because it was evacuated yesterday.
Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper said authorities were surprised at the amount of water that entered the caravan park, given the river level at Nagambie.
“It is being investigated what made the difference this time,” he said.
UPDATE: 4.36pm, Wednesday, January 10: Change of river peak for Shepparton and Mooroopna
The Goulburn River is now expected to peak at 10.7m late Thursday night or early Friday morning in Shepparton, according to authorities.
This is 30cm below the initial predictions a few days ago.
Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper said residents of Shepparton and Mooroopna will start to see water in the streets by mid-afternoon on Thursday at the earliest.
Watt Rd, between Shepparton and Mooroopna will likely have have water on it three or four hours before the peak ‒ so mid afternoon on Thursday.
UPDATE: 4.06pm, Wednesday, January 10: Goulburn Valley Water sewerage and drinking water update
Goulburn Valley Water has released a statement regarding their water and sewerage treatment plants.
Goulburn Valley Water Managing Director Dr Steve Capewell has assured the public that all water supplied by Goulburn Valley Water is safe to drink.
“Our water and sewerage treatment plants are operating normally, and we’re closely managing the operation of water and sewer network infrastructure,” Dr Capewell said.
“Our Incident Management Team is working around the clock and closely monitoring the situation as the flood peak moves through our region.
“We have protection measures in place at the Shepparton Water Treatment Plant, including sandbagging critical water supply infrastructure. We also have water quality specialists monitoring the plant 24/7 until water quality returns to normal.”
Goulburn Valley Water will also closely monitor the raw water quality in the Goulburn River and adjust treatment processes as needed to ensure safe drinking water continues to be supplied.
UPDATE: 3.12pm, Wednesday, January 10: Doorknocking in Shepparton, river peak at Murchison
SES and Search and Rescue volunteers have doorknocked 450 homes in Shepparton, Kialla and Mooroopna today and yesterday to alert them that there may be flooding in streets around their homes and to reassure those residents of what the coming floodwater will mean for them.
They are hoping to doorknock another 150 homes today.
In the meantime, the river has peaked at Murchison.
Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper said the Goulburn peaked in the town at 10.47m at about 11.30am today.
At 2.10pm, it was sitting at 10.46m and steady.
UPDATE: 3.04pm, Wednesday, January 10: Rochester update
It is now safe to return to Rochester, with the evacuation order lifted for the town.
Minor flooding is still occurring on the Campaspe River in the town.
Victoria SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said Echuca was starting to see minor flooding today, with the Campaspe expected to peak in the town later today.
There will be some local road closures and inundation.
“We are not expecting levels anything like 2022,” Mr Wiebusch said.
UPDATE, 2.38pm, Wednesday, January 10: Presser clarification
We have just clarified comments from Victoria SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch that were said in the state-wide press conference this afternoon.
Mr Wiebusch said there would be “less than a dozen direct impacts in and around homes”.
The News has just spoken to the man in charge of the Shepparton Incident Control Centre, incident controller Ray Jasper, about the comments.
Mr Jasper maintained that no Shepparton or Mooroopna homes would flood.
“We have checked all the floor levels,” he said.
UPDATE, 2.25pm, Wednesday, January 10: Another presser wrinkle
For those of you who were watching the statewide press conference, there has again been some different information disseminated than we are getting from emergency services on the ground.
We will again clarify those for you promptly - for starters, the Goulburn River at Murchison has peaked for now, at 10.47m as we said below, and is hovering around at just below or at that level.
UPDATE, 2.12pm, Wednesday, January 10: What’s happening in Murchison
In Murchison, the Goulburn River peaked at 10.47m between 11.40am and 12.35pm and as of 1.15pm, it was 10.44m and falling.
News journalist Kelly Carmody was in the area, snapping some pictures and talking to residents.
She said the atmosphere of the town was calm, and leading up to the peak most people weren’t too worried about flooding.
Residents’ main concern was the forecast of rain expected over the next week and whether that would affect river levels.
CFA was on the ground pumping water, and Powercor, who was attending to a tree that had hit a powerline on Old Wilks Rd, reported that the power supply was not impacted.
It was reported that Skye Caravan Park was inundated at the bottom end with water and water was surrounding Thornbridge Manor on High Rd but hadn’t appeared to enter the property.
UPDATE, 1.30pm, Wednesday, January 10: Sandbag numbers
Greater Shepparton City Council said that around 20,000 sandbags and 320 cubic metres of sand have been delivered to their collection sites in Mooroopna, Shepparton and Murchison over the past few days.
A steady stream of residents have been attending the sandbag sites, with collection still open at all three locations.
Council also provided another video update this afternoon.
UPDATE, 12.35pm, Wednesday, January 10: Water and power supplies for Shepparton and Mooroopna
With the water in the Goulburn River already brown at Shepparton, journalist Monique Preston asked Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper about drinking water levels for Shepparton and Mooroopna.
He said Goulburn Valley Water had been busy in the past few days pumping extra water into its storage tanks to allow for this scenario.
“They have a comfortable amount of water supply,” he said.
Goulburn Valley Water’s sewage treatment plant will also remain “high and dry”, Mr Jasper said.
On the topic of utilities, Mr Jasper also gave reassurance that the power should remain on with a levee bank protecting the power sub-station in Mooroopna.
This levee has been built since the October 2022 flood.
“All utilities tell us they are happy with their infrastructure,” Mr Jasper said.
UPDATE, 12.31pm, Wednesday, January 10: Lake Eildon releases
As we mentioned earlier, releases from Lake Eildon were increased from 3000Ml to 5000Ml a day at 10am.
Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper this morning wanted to give assurances to the people of Seymour especially that these releases would not impact river heights in the town.
“The river will remain well below minor level (in Seymour),” he said.
UPDATE, 12.16pm, Wednesday, January 10: Nagambie update
Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper has given an update on how things went for Nagambie.
The Goulburn River peaked there at about 1am today at a moderate flood level of 12.73m.
It is now falling.
Mr Jasper said no houses were flooded in Nagambie.
Yesterday the two caravan parks in the town moved campers from lower parts of the parks as a precaution, and Mr Jasper said he had not heard of any issues there this morning.
UPDATE, 12.15pm, Wednesday, January 10: More roads closed
A number of streets in Murchison - as well as Raftery Rd in Kialla - have now been closed.
You can see the full details here: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/road-closure-updates-stay-up-to-date-on-road-closures-due-to-floods/
Also closed are a number of parks, reserves and shared paths - as well as council facilities.
Find those, here: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/business-and-facility-closures-around-shepparton/
UPDATE, noon, Wednesday, January 10: Update of Shepparton and Mooroopna’s situation
The flood level for Shepparton is now expected to be less than 11m, according to Shepparton Incident Control Centre incident controller Ray Jasper.
Mr Jasper said the exact level was not known, but given that Murchison was expected to peak at less than 10.5m now – down from an earlier expected peak of 10.7m – the Shepparton levels would also be lower than initially predicted.
This means the flood of the Goulburn River will now be a moderate one, and not a major one.
No houses or shops in Shepparton or Mooroopna will flood, Mr Jasper said.
But some roads and properties will flood, and people may be cut off for up to 12 hours before the water recedes.
The depth of the water level will “not be huge”, according to Mr Jasper, but he urged people to continue to heed the warnings not to walk or drive through floodwater.
“You might be inconvenienced for a short period of time,” he said.
Shepparton Search and Rescue and SES volunteers have been doorknocking homes in parts of Shepparton, Mooroopna and Kialla West this morning to give reassurance to residents of how any flooding of the area will affect them.
“It’s reassurance and making sure they have enough supplies to last 12 to 18 hours,” Mr Jasper said.
The river is expected to peak in Shepparton on Thursday morning.
Mr Jasper said water would start to be seen in streets and roads two to three hours before the peak.
Mr Jasper said Watt Rd predicted to flood in the late morning or around lunchtime on Thursday.
The Broken River and Seven Creeks are expected to be full, but not break their banks.
UPDATE, 11.50am, Wednesday, January 10: Photos from around Shepparton and Mooroopna
News senior photographer Megan Fisher has been out and about this morning.
Here’s some of what she saw.
UPDATE, 11.45am, Wednesday, January 10: Downstream of Shepparton
The Goulburn River at McCoys Bridge is at 5.03m and rising.
A minor flood warning is in place for the area, with the minor flood level of 9m set to possibly be exceeded on Thursday afternoon.
The river may peak at around the moderate flood level of 10m over the weekend.
UPDATE, 11am, Wednesday, January 10: Plenty of news
We were distracted momentarily by a fire on the Goulburn Valley Hwy, which you can read about here - https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/goulburn-valley-hwy-closed-in-both-directions-2/ - but we’re back to flood news.
Here’s some rapid-fire updates.
- Releases from Lake Eildon were increased from 3000 Ml to 5000 Ml per day as of 10am
- A spokesperson from Powercor has stated that floods in Shepparton have not impacted their network or power supply. They have been monitoring the flood threat and rising water levels in the Goulburn River and staying updated with authorities. The spokesperson also said they’ve taken preventive measures across some of their sites to ensure there’s no damage to them in the case of flooding. One of these sites includes the Mooroopna Zone Substation, where a permanent levee was built last year following damage to the station in the October 2022 floods after rising water from nearby creeks and rivers flooded the site. They aren’t expecting the floods to impact the station as it did last time; however, they have closed the levee as a precautionary step. Powercor has confirmed they will keep customers updated if the situation changes.
- Aquamoves has announced that it will close as of 8pm tonight due to the flood emergency until further notice. This includes all pools as well as afterhours gym access, however the 50m outdoor pool will close as of 12pm today.
- KidsTown has also confirmed that it will close at 5pm.
UPDATE, 10.30am, Wednesday, January 10: Water rising
The Goulburn River at Shepparton is officially ‘steady’ at 8.65m, but reports from those out on the ground are that the walking track between Shepparton and Mooroopna has water over it and that KidsTown will be closed today.
UPDATE, 10.20am, Wednesday, January 10: Word from the ICC
Monique Preston has been out to the Shepparton Incident Control Centre this morning for an update - and it’s good news for Murchison residents.
The Goulburn River is approaching its peak in town, and is now not expected to reach 10.5m.
It is currently at 10.44m.
UPDATE, 9.30am, Wednesday, January 10: Road closures
A reminder that as road closures are confirmed we will add them in this rolling coverage as well as the story at this link: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/road-closure-updates-stay-up-to-date-on-road-closures-due-to-floods/
Bridge Rd, Toolamba, has been added to the list this morning, and it is expected that Watt Rd and Raftery Rd, Kialla, will close later today.
UPDATE, 9.15am, Wednesday, January 10: More sandbags available
Greater Shepparton City Council is opening up a sandbag collection point for the Mooroopna community at the Ardmona Resource Recovery Centre at 770 Turnbull Rd.
The drive-thru site will open at 9.30am and remain open depending on demand - there are currently 600 pre-packed bags ready.
The Shepparton Showgrounds site will be open from 8am-8pm.
The Murchison site has moved to the SES Unit area at 14 Watson St, and is open 24/7 for residents to fill sandbags.
UPDATE, 8.20am, Wednesday, January 10: Messaging
Here’s the latest messaging from Greater Shepparton City Council and the Shepparton Incident Control Centre.
EARLIER, 7am, Wednesday, January 10: Where we stand and a look back at yesterday
Hi all,
There is a watch and act - move to higher ground - warning currently issued in Murchison, attached to a moderate flood warning.
The Goulburn River at Murchison is currently in moderate flood, at 10.39m, but is holding steady for the moment.
It breached the moderate flood level at around 11pm last night and, according to VicEmergency, could peak at around 10.5m sometime this morning.
This would be below the major flood level of 10.7m.
In Shepparton, the Goulburn River is at 8.4m, which is below the minor flood level of 9.5m.
A ‘prepare now’ watch and act message is in place for the Goulburn between Murchison and Shepparton, also attached to a moderate flood warning.
The level of the river is projected to go past the minor flood mark this morning, and could reach the moderate flood level of 10.7m early Thursday morning.
Here’s some of yesterday’s content below if you missed it.
Tuesday wrap: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/houses-in-shepparton-and-mooroopna-not-expected-to-flood/
What could happen at 11m and how to check projections for your property: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/11-metres-of-water-what-does-that-look-like/
Tuesday’s rolling coverage: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/rolling-coverage-tuesday-january-9/
The view from Murchison: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/murchison-resilience-in-the-face-of-rising-waters/
How Rochester fared: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/rochester-residents-avoid-major-flooding-3/
Gallery of photos from Tuesday: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/gallery-photos-of-the-goulburn-and-broken-rivers-as-well-as-seven-creeks-tuesday-jan-9/
How Seymour fared: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/seymour-yea-and-avenel-flooding-updates/
Word from G-MW: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/g-mw-update-eildon-eppalock-and-loch-garry-situation/
Sandbag info: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/council-prepares-for-moderate-flood/