South Australian River Murray Flood Recovery Program
Client: Green Industries South Australia
In December 2022-February 2023, South Australia experienced some of the worst flooding of the River Murray since records began.
The impacts were also compounded by the slow pace of the flood which resulted in many building being inundated for over 4 weeks. The impacts extended along the full length of the River Murray from the border with Victoria to the Southern Ocean. In addition to property damage, a significant volume of debris settled in the river itself, posing a safety and navigational hazard.
For more information on the South Australian River Murray Flood Recovery Program, visit:
The Challenge
Due to the unprecedented nature of the impacts, the South Australian Government sought to deliver a recovery program unlike any other previous rolled out in the State. To achieve this, the State Government, through Green Industries South Australia, engaged Forge Solutions as head contractor to manage the clean up and support the community recovery. The immediate need was to determine the extent of impacts across a large and remote geographic region. Once known, recovery pathways could be designed to best meet the needs of residents and impacted communities.
The Solution
Even before Forge Solutions was engaged, we deployed our rapid response teams into the affected communities to gain situational awareness and provide immediate relief on the ground. As the flood waters receded and the extent of impact became known, we worked closely with Green Industries to devise a fit-for-purpose recovery program to meet the needs of the community following this unprecedented flood.
The program was broken into 7 phases of work which were delivered concurrently across the entire length of the River. These phases of work included mass structural assessments of homes and businesses, free demolitions of destroyed homes, an environmental clean-up of the River Murray, sandbag collections and debris removal from flooded communities. To support residents through the program, we established a 24/7 contact centre which assisted residents with accessing support and guided them through the recovery program.
The Outcome
In total, our crews removed 18,444 tonnes of debris from the impacted region and over 45% of waste was repurposed through upcycling or recycling. We are proud to have carried out the largest ever clean-up in the history of the South Australian River system. Over 200 property owners also benefited from having their flood damaged homes/shacks demolished free of charge.
