Patawalonga Lake System Flood Emergency Planning

Working collaboratively to practice and review planned responses to flooding emergencies

Under SA Emergency Management arrangements, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is the Hazard Leader for Flood, leading and coordinating the comprehensive flood hazards planning process (risk prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery).

The Patawalonga Lake System (PLS) is managed by DEW and provides critical water management infrastructure in Glenelg. Key strategies are in place to ensure stakeholders understand their roles and provide information for preventing and managing a PLS flood (or potential flood) emergency. 

An Exercise Planning Team comprising DEW, South Australian State Emergency Services (SASES), South Australian Police (SAPOL), and Nature Street Creative was established to practice and review the planned response to PLS flooding. The Team developed and facilitated ‘Exercise Patawalonga Lake’, a single-day multi-agency facilitated hypothetical scenario facilitated by SAPOL. It considered existing arrangements, procedures, policies, and plans concerning flooding in the PLS, with twenty-one participating organisations.

NSC’s Claire Lock was engaged as the Team’s Project Coordinator and was responsible for stakeholder liaison, administration, and logistics to prepare and support the Exercise. Claire worked collaboratively to record Exercise minutes, draft a DEW briefing paper, and provide an Emergency Exercise Summary to attendees.  Following the Exercise, the Planning team developed a report with actions arising and priority areas to inform planning and training over the following 6 – 12 months.