Flood recovery passes 130 projects

LISMORE City Council says it has completed 133 flood recovery projects four years after the 2022 disaster, with another 142 underway.

The council is overseeing a $1 billion state and federally funded restoration program spanning 338 projects across water, roads and bridges, buildings and other infrastructure.

Lismore recorded its highest ever flood level of 14.4 metres on February 28, 2022.

Mayor Steve Krieg said progress had been made, despite early delays.

“I know four years is a long time and we still have about another four years to go, but cast your mind back to the days immediately after 28 February 2022 and sight of the destruction as waters receded, you realise the enormous effort that has been put into our recovery by council, the state and federal governments, local business and residents,” he said.

 

“What has slowed our recovery was that we were the first in NSW to be hit by a disaster of such magnitude. Unlike in Queensland, there was no template, no road map we had to figure it out as we went.”

The completed works include the restoration of the Lismore Memorial Baths, City Library and Regional Gallery.

More than $200 million has flowed into local and regional businesses, supporting jobs across the Northern Rivers.

Council executive director Charlotte Foy said managing the program had permanently lifted the organisation’s capital delivery capability.

“The team recognised early that managing a $1 billion recovery portfolio required a different level of project management maturity,” she said.