The village of Sofala is located on the Turon River, a major tributary of the Macquarie River. The village has been affected by several floods in the past, most recently in 1990. The village was significantly affected in the August 1986 flood, the highest recorded flood at the village. A number of residential and commercial properties were affected in that flood, particularly the hotel, and there was significant concern that the Crossley Bridge would fail, due to the extensive debris load.

Evans Shire Council has commissioned SMEC to prepare a Flood Scoping Study for the villages of Georges Plains and Sofala. The objective of the Study is to undertake a preliminary investigation of the flood issues in the two villages to allow Evans Shire Council to determine whether more detailed studies are required to satisfy the principles and guidelines in the NSW Flood Prone land Policy and the Floodplain Management Manual. This report presents the outcomes of the investigation of flooding at Sofala, as well as an assessment of the potential effectiveness of removing vegetation from within the channel in order to reduce the severity of flooding. This report contains an overview of the hydrologic investigations, an outline of the modelling methodology, a summary of modelling results and conclusions.