Have Your Say – Wonga Beach Flood Study Assessment -Community Input Opportunity

Background

Douglas Shire Council is undertaking a review of the Wonga Beach Flood Study and Drainage Assessment (2023) to improve understanding of local flood behaviour and flood risk within the community.

Council met with the Wonga Beach Community in November 2025, as part of Community Wet Season Preparedness Series. This project builds on those existing relationships and the valuable knowledge already shared by residents.

Council is working with flood specialists, Prentice Consulting and JB Pacific, to meet with the Wonga Beach community and capture local knowledge, lived experiences and historical flood information. This information will be used alongside the Queensland Government’s latest spatial data (LiDAR) to fine-tune the current flood model and improve findings.

Have Your Say

We want to hear from residents, property owners and visitors who have experienced flooding in Wonga Beach. Your observations, photographs, videos and experiences can help improve the accuracy of flood modelling and ensure future flood mitigation options are based on both technical assessment and real-world information.

Get Involved

There are several ways to participate:

Attend the Community Drop-In Session

Join Council and the project team in person at the upcoming community drop-in session:

Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Time: between 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Location: Wonga Beach State School

The workshop will provide an opportunity to:

• Identify locations where floodwater enters, ponds or drains.
• Record flood depths, timing and flow directions observed during past events.
• Share observations relating to tidal influences and drainage behaviour.

Community members are encouraged to bring along photos or any records they have from previous severe weather events.

Complete the Community Survey

Complete the online survey to tell us about your experiences with flooding in Wonga Beach. Residents are encouraged to upload:

• Photos/videos of flood events.
• Historical flood/rain records.
• Personal observations and experiences.
• Information about drainage issues, flooded roads and property impacts.

Have a question

Questions about the study or the consultation process can be sent to enquiries@douglas.qld.gov.au with Wonga Beach Flood Study in the subject line.

Additional Information

What’s Already Happened?

Council completed the Wonga Beach Flood Study and Drainage Assessment in 2023. The study identified areas of flood risk within Wonga Beach and investigated opportunities to reduce flooding impacts within the township.

JB Pacific previously presented the Wonga Beach Flood Study findings to the community in November 2025.

Since completion of the study, Council has continued to work with the community to improve understanding of local flood behaviour. Residents have generously shared local knowledge, photographs, observations and lived experiences through previous engagement activities, community meetings and resilience initiatives.

Council sincerely thanks everyone who has contributed information to date. The knowledge already provided by the community has highlighted the importance of incorporating lived experience into flood modelling and has helped shape this project.

Council is now building on this work through a detailed review and recalibration of the existing modelling using community feedback, observed flood behaviour and the Queensland Government’s latest LiDAR data. This will help ensure the updated modelling better reflects local conditions and community experience.

What’s Happening Now?

Council has engaged specialist flood engineers to review and recalibrate the existing Wonga Beach Flood Study and Drainage Assessment (2023).

This project is being funded through the North Queensland Resilience Program (NQRP) and will use the Queensland Government’s latest spatial data (LiDAR), existing flood modelling and information provided by the community to improve understanding of flood behaviour in Wonga Beach.

The project will:

• Capture local knowledge, observations and lived experiences of flooding.
• Collect flood photographs, videos, records and historical information from residents.
• Review and refine the existing flood model to better reflect observed flood behaviour.
• Assess the influence of tidal conditions on flooding within Wonga Beach.
• Investigate the potential benefits of drainage clearing activities.
• Consider the impacts of significant future development proposals, where relevant.
• Explore practical flood mitigation measures, including nature-based solutions.
• Improve community understanding of flood modelling and flood risk.

Community feedback collected through the online survey, information portal and drop in sessions will play an important role in shaping the updated flood modelling and future recommendations for the area.

Following the initial information gathering and model refining, Council and its consultants will hold a second community information session to present key findings based on information provided, explain any changes to the understanding of flood behaviour, and discuss potential flood risk within the community. This will provide residents with an opportunity to ask questions and provide further feedback before the project is finalised.