The study area encompasses a substantial portion of the township of Bowral. Bowral township is located 5km off the Hume Highway, 115km south-west of Sydney. The town is situated within the Wingecarribee Local Government Area (LGA). The study area includes the floodplain of Mittagong Creek between Old South Road and the Wingecarribee River. It also includes the floodplain of the tributary draining the "Beavan Place" sub-catchment, which flows through Bowral Golf Course and joins Mittagong Creek downstream of the built-up area. The floodplain includes all land potentially subject to flooding up to the probable maximum flood (PMF).

The Bowral Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan investigates what can be done to minimise the effects of flooding. Specific objectives of the study include:

• a revision of an earlier flood study;
• quantification of the flood problem in Bowral;
• assessment of potential floodplain management measures to address the problem; and
• the development of a recommended Floodplain Risk Management Plan for the Bowral area, outlining the best measures to reduce flood damage, based on consideration of environmental, social, economic and engineering issues.