The Ourimbah Creek Floodplain Risk Management Plan has been prepared for the Central Coast Council in accordance with the NSW Government’s Floodplain Development Manual 2005 (Reference 1) and:  Is based on a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of factors that affect and are affected by the use of flood prone land;  Represents the considered opinion of the local community on how to best manage its flood risk and its flood prone land; and  Provides a long-term path for the future development of the community.

The Ourimbah Creek catchment is located on the Central Coast of NSW, approximately 90km north of Sydney. Covering a total area of 160 km2, the majority of the catchment is contained in the Wyong Shire Local Government Area (LGA), with 8 km² of the catchment contained in the Gosford City LGA to the south. In 2016 the two councils were combined into the Central Coast Council.

Flooding has been recorded periodically since the 1930’s but there are many more recorded instances of flooding in Tuggerah Lakes. It is possible that the incidence of flooding has historically been under reported along Ourimbah Creek and its tributaries. In recent times there have been two significant events, in February 1990 and June 2007. In both these events there was extensive flooding in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Wyong/Gosford regions.

Flooding causes significant hardship, including both tangible and intangible damages, to the community and for this reason the Central Coast Council has undertaken a program of studies to address the management of the flood problem in accordance with the NSW Government’s Floodplain Development Manual 2005 (Reference 1).