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Residents at one of the region’s most flood prone towns have slammed Ballarat City Council for failing to reduce the risk of a deluge during big storms.

Miners Rest homeowners fear up to 40mm of rainfall predicted for the region could see their homes and livelihoods ruined on Friday and Saturday.

After flooding devastated the town in 2011, the problem has been further exacerbated through new housing developments that have increased water flowing into the town’s centre.

For more on Miners Rest floods

Committee for Miners Rest president Alicia Bond said council had ignored the flood risk at Miners Rest for seven years.

“There has been absolutely no significant flood mitigation since any flood event at all following 2011,” she said.

“It is very concerning, we know what a small amount of rain can do, especially downstream of the creek.

“We also know it doesn’t take a lot of rain – if we get what is forecast it will be devastating for Miners Rest.”

Mrs Bond said the town had once been able to handle 20mm of rain, but even that amount now caused flooding.

The main concern has been the overflow of water from the Burrumbeet Creek, which passed through the town’s south-west, and the resulting flooding of homes on Raglan Street and Sharpes Road.

A low wetlands area at Miners Rest Recreation Reserve in the town’s east used to overflow into the Burrumbeet Creek during rain events.

However Mrs Bond said the creek was now filling more quickly, causing the overflow from the wetlands to flow back into the town.

Ballarat SES put out a warning for residents in the region to be cautious of during the heavy rainfall.

This includes being aware of the dangers posed when driving through flood waters.

The SES said in a Facebook post more crews would be put on duty on Friday and Saturday night.

Residents in Ballarat have also been warned.

Mrs Bond said her family was forced to install extra drainage on their property to deal with floods.

We have had family in the area for 60 years, we are four generations in the town, and it the floods are something that is fairly common knowledge,” she said.

“Once the creek hits a certain level, water can’t get into it, and it has nowhere to go except through properties.

“Houses have been built on potential swamps and they should not have been because they have disrupted the water course.”

Council has proposed the construction of a high-flow bypass channel and levee bank on the south side of Miners Rest to prevent the creek breaking its banks.

It has also designed a drainage system to divert water from the wetlands, to the town’s north-west.

About $250,000 was allocated in its 2017-18 capital works budget for extra drainage on Sharpes Road and Raglan Street.

Driving in heavy rain and floods is discouraged by all forms of emergency services but if people must travel, it is recommended to follow these tips: 

The 150th Kingston Agricultural show has been thrown into doubt with forecast heavy rains threatening to cause a washaway. 

Business and Tourism Creswick Secretary and President of the Kingston Agricultural Society Margaret Giles said people are anxious about the predicted weather. 

“People are understandably nervous but we won’t know until after the event just how bad it is,” she said. 

Ms Giles said tourists from Melbourne and Adelaide had called their bookings at accommodation in Creswick and the Kingston Agricultural Society are weary about holding the show on Sunday. 

“We are waiting a bit longer to make a decision about what happens with the show this year,” she said. 

“We are going to make a decision on Friday and we have to make it reasonably early so we will be putting a message on our Facebook page about what will be happening then.” 

However, Ms Giles said the people of Creswick are feeling much more prepared than 2010 and 2011 when they were hit with two major floods. 

Since then, the North Central Catchment Management Authority and Hepburn Shire Council have undertaken flood mitigation works including widening and cleaning the Creswick creek and upgrading the bride over the creek. 

“We have had significant rainfall since the mitigation works and the town wasn't affected as badly as 2011,” Ms Giles said. 

“There has been a considerable amount of work and personally I feel much better prepared and we should be able to cope with a rain event if the authorities are to be believed and we have no reason to not believe them.”

At Davies and Rose Rural and Hardware, Dave Mullaney and owner Jamie Davies have been preparing for if the store is hit by flood and sold about 40 sandbags to local residents yesterday.  

“We have been moving stock around and things like that,” Mr Mullaney said. 

“I’ve checked the spouts, unblocked the sump, and moved any things that can’t afford to get wet,” Mr Davies said. 

The hardware store was hit hard by floods in 2011 and Mr Davies said there is the same nervous energy in the Creswick township as there was six years ago. 

“I think there is a sense of perpetration but some people a bit concerned,” he said. 

“People are bit on edge and a bit nervy about what the rainfall will bring us, everyone has been keeping an eye on the rain on all different websites. 

“We had a wet winter but the ground has dried a bit so it will soak a bit before it runs across the top of the soil but if you get four inches or onward the creeks will burst.”

Despite the threat of floods, Mr Davies said he will not close the shop unless he has to and it will be “business as usual”

The people of Skipton are more prepared than ever for the extreme rain forecast for this weekend. 

Skipton Progress Association Inc Ms Lilla Orton said emergency services are on standby and residents have learned how to better prepare from previous years’ flooding. 

“We know the CFA are on alert and presumably the SES as well as the council and all they have sandbagging and all the equipment ready but until it happens we don’t know what we are really looking at,” she said. 

“We have cancelled one Sunday activity but apart form that people are just watching and thinking about the numerous warnings from the CFA, cleaning up and making sure things are in order.” 

Ms Orton said the town has learned a lot about how to deal with floods since they were hit hard by rogue waters in 2011 and said they are all well prepared for any flooding event. 

“Since 2011 there has been two major initiatives; the barrel drains in the main street which worked well in 2016 and we have flood gates into the creek,” she said. 

“We also have a new tanker helps with pumping and the emergency station for sandbagging run by the SES which will make life a lot easier and efficient if we need.”

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