LONG awaited works to clear and clean the Creswick creek have started three years after the town was hit by a series of destructive floods.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hepburn Shire Council infrastructure general manager Bruce Lucas said favourable weather had enabled the works to start.
“It has not been possible to commence these works previously due to strong water flows in the creek,” he said.
The council successfully applied for funding in 2012, as recommended by a flood management plan prepared in the aftermath of the 2010-11 floods.
The cost of the staged program totals $1.4 million.
Mr Lucas said the current works would be carried out between the Waters Street Bridge and the caravan park and would take about two weeks.
It would involve a combination of clearing vegetation from the creek bed and reshaping the invert by removing rock and sand material.
He said there would also be some minor channel deepening and shaping of the creek at restricted points.
“This will provide the community with a greater level of protection from future flooding,” Mr Lucas said.
The first year of works is being funded with $225,000 from the state government, $325,000 from the federal government and $100,000 from the council.