A flood study conducted by North East Catchment Management Authority predicted 307 properties would be affected by the extreme flood event, including 55 residential and two commercial properties which would be flooded above floor level.

The key findings of the Wangaratta Flood Investigation were presented to councillors at Tuesday night’s meeting, as officers hope they will help secure government funding to fix issues in the town.

Two levees, located on Parfitt Road and Wilsons Road, “do not provide adequate protection” for homes during the one-in-100-year flood events, according to the study.

Infrastructure services director Alan Clark told the meeting the study provided the council with more accurate data than it could previously access.

“It’s involved very intensive work with emergency services, NECMA, council and a lot of community consultation,” he said.

“It highlights the fact that our levees provide really critical protection, but they don’t provide full protection to the 1 per cent, which is a term for the one-in-100-year flood. 

“We knew that there’s a few low spots in the levees, but the fact that it’s now been recorded in this document gives us the ability to seek funding to rectify that.”

The last flood defined as a one-in-100-year event occurred in Wangaratta in 1993.

The study found that when the flood level reaches 12.5 metres, key roads in the rural city become inundated with water, along with agricultural land and some low-lying properties.

Painters Island Caravan Park is regularly one of the first locations to take in water during the city’s major floods due to its low-lying position next to Apex Park.

But the council ruled out works to prevent the caravan park from flooding after four different scenarios tested as part of the study all had adverse effects for other parts of Wangaratta.

“It was quite extreme the effect on residential properties, so it’s unlikely they would go ahead,” Mr Clark said.