A hydrology expert has said that hundreds of Melbourne homes would have been protected from the recent floods if the former Labor government had agreed to build a dam at Maribyrnong River.
The former Victorian Bracks government previously dismissed the suggestions on the basis that it was not worthwhile because they believed climate change predictions indicated there would not be enough water flowing into the dam, the water minister said back in 2019.
The comment comes as floods have ravaged thousands of home in northern Victoria, cut power off overnight, and damaged highways.
Hydrology and flood warning specialist Geoff Crapper told The Sunday Age that if the Maribyrnong dam had been built, it would have “saved hundreds of people evacuating and billions of dollars in bills,” and the floods wouldn’t have “ruined people’s lives.”…