The Richmond River is one of New South Wales’ largest coastal rivers. The upper reaches flow in a general north-south direction from its source on the Queensland / New South Wales border in the McPherson Ranges through Casino to its confluence with the Wilsons River at Coraki. The river continues south downstream of Coraki until it meets with Bungawalbyn Creek, which is the second major tributary of the Richmond River. At this point the river winds in an easterly direction to Woodburn. Downstream of Woodburn the river turns to flow in a north easterly direction passing Broadwater, Wardell and finally Ballina before reaching the ocean. There is a natural constriction in the river and floodplain at the township of Broadwater. This constriction acts to hold floodwaters in the extensive floodplain ‘basin’ between Broadwater, Woodburn and Coraki. This floodplain ‘basin’ is known as the Mid-Richmond.

The objectives of the Mid-Richmond Floodplain Risk Management Plan are:

• to detail cost effective floodplain management measures for the Mid-Richmond area;
• to present a brief economic analysis of the proposed scheme, including an overall benefit-cost ratio;
• to develop an implementation plan for the proposed scheme and present a program to illustrate the proposed actions and annual cost estimates associated with the implementation of the measures; and
• to take into account the funding from Council and both the State and Commonwealth Governments when estimating the cost for implementation.