Cooma-Monaro Shire Council proposes to undertake flood mitigation works for the town of Cooma. This is in accordance with the Floodplain Management Plan (FPMP) developed from the Cooma Floodplain Management Study (SMEC 1994). This report was prepared in accordance with the State Government's Flood Prone Lands Policy.

The proposed works are located within the Cooma Creek catchment, an upper tributary of the Murrumbidgee River. Works are to be carried out on both the Cooma Creek and Cooma Back Creek, extending through the town centre to a point just below the confluence. The concept design is the result of extensive consultation with the Cooma-Monaro Shire Council and the Department of Land and Water Conservation. The project comprises three stages each of between three and six months duration.

The objectives of the project are to:

• reduce the potential for flooding in Cooma;
• design, construct and supervise flood mitigation works on the Cooma and Cooma Back Creeks to accommodate floods with an average recurrence interval (ARI) of once every 20 years with a 0.5 metre leeway above that to protect from waves overtopping the levee;
• prevent further degradation of water quality and habitat for aquatic fauna in the two creeks;
• ensure maintenance time and costs are kept to a minimum;
• implement the project in accordance with both State and Federal environmental laws;
• to enhance the environmental and ecological values of the creeks;
• provide a cost-effective solution to mitigating floods; and
• improve aesthetics of the 'visible' sections of the Cooma and Cooma Back Creeks.