Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade Project – Detailed Design Begins

Published on 15 April 2024

The detailed design of the Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade Project has now begun, after Council adopted the concept design in February. 

Byron Bay has a history of flooding during heavy rain, and this affects businesses and residents, this project aims to mitigate the flooding. 

Chris Soulsby, Acting Manager Assets and Major Projects, said people may notice investigation work starting in Byron Bay, as part of the project.

“As part of formulating the detailed design, we will be drilling boreholes in late April/early May in the Byron Town Centre and Recreation Grounds areas. This process identifies soil types and ground conditions. Traffic management will be in place where required, while this work takes place,” Mr Soulsby said. 

“We will be giving people the opportunity to find out more about the project, throughout April and May,” he said. 

Information sessions will be held, as follows: 

• Thursday 18 April at Byron Farmers Market from 7am to 11am.
• Sunday 5 May at Byron Community Market from 8am to 3pm. 
• Thursday 9 May at Byron Farmers Market from 7am to 11am. 

The upgrade to drainage is estimated to cost more than $40 million and will require construction to be staged. 

The project is jointly funded by the NSW and Australian Governments, which includes $7 million of gravity drainage upgrades in the Town Centre Catchment, funded by the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. 

A further $11.8 million for the project was provided by the Australian Government through the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program (NRRRP), which is being administered by the NSW Reconstruction Authority. The aim of the NRRRP is to reduce the impact of future disasters to create a better position for communities to recover faster–this includes construction of the Sandhills Wetlands which will improve drainage and stormwater quality and other drainage measures.

While this is the first stage of the $40m Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade Project, more funds will be needed to complete construction of the remaining stages.

Information on this project is on Council’s website. People can also sign up to a newsletter.