WANGARATTA Council will inherit ownership and ongoing maintenance of the city's levee bank which is a crucial buffer for homes in flood-prone areas.
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Levee bank responsibility previously belonged to the Victorian government, but post a review, councils will take over once they have been upgraded.
Council infrastructure services director Alan Clark said the capital cost of bringing the Wangaratta levee bank up to standard would be borne by all three levels of government.
“It’s not at risk at the moment, but we want to get it upgraded before we take over responsibility,” he said.
Low lying areas of Wangaratta including Apex Park are again submerged.
The Ovens and King rivers and Fifteen Mile Creek contribute to flooding in the city.
The last major flooding in Wangaratta was in September 2010 and long-range weather forecaster John Moore said average rainfall had fallen in July and the trend was expected to continue into August.