The City of Ballarat is progressing flood mitigation projects to better protect the Miners Rest and Cardigan Village communities.

The flood mitigation projects will focus on upgrading storm water systems, improving water flow management and implementing engineered solutions to reduce the risk of flooding in these areas.

The City of Ballarat has advertised a tender for design services for the Cardigan Village Flood Mitigation project after completing flood modelling that identified several flooding hotspots within the township.

The flood study outlined several mitigation solutions, and the successful engineering consultant will be required to design four flood protection measures for assessment and consideration.

As part of the Miners Rest Drainage Plan, updated flood modelling has also been completed.

A concept design that targets interventions in key areas to provide flood protection, while minimising the impact of works on local residents and the environment, is now underway.

The City of Ballarat plans to engage a civil design consultant to further develop the concept design this year, prior to commencing construction.

The City of Ballarat 2024-25 Budget included an increased investment in drainage projects to address storm event flooding in Cardigan Village and Miners Rest communities.

The Budget allocated $6.5 million for drainage projects, including the Cardigan Village Flood Mitigation project and for the Miners Rest Drainage Plan, with additional funding proposed for future years’ budgets.

City of Ballarat North Ward Councillor Jim Rinaldi said while there is a lot of design and engineering work still to be done, once completed, the projects will help protect the two communities.

“We are committed to taking action to help reduce flood risks and provide long-term storm resilience for Cardigan Village and Miners Rest,” he said.

“The project teams will consult with local residents throughout the process at key stages to keep them updated on developments and address any questions.”

Areas of Cardigan Village and Miners Rest have experienced flooding during storms in recent years, highlighting the need for improved drainage infrastructure and flood prevention measures.

Overland flow plays a significant role for the flooding and drainage problem in Cardigan Village, with unlined open drains conveying stormwater flows to the wetlands and detention basins.  

Areas of Miners Rest can flood via the Burrumbeet Creek during large storm events. 

This story based on a City of Ballarat media release

It’s been a bit over a month since the Renegade Bootscooters started doin’ their thang at the Miners Rest Community Hall … and the hall has never been quite the same since.

In particular it’s been coming alive on Wednesday mornings and Thursday evenings with up-beat country rock and some attention-getting choreography.

The Renegade Bootscooters had previously been based at Sebastopol Scout Hall in Ballarat where for the past 16 years they’d been leading their all-ages line dancing classes.

But following their recent move to the Miner’s Rest hall they haven’t looked back and instructor Julie Gerrett says the new venue has been a great move.

While all their former regulars have followed them over to the new, larger venue, they’ve also attracted some new beginners to the regular classes, she says.

“Word’s been catching around that we’re here now. We’ve got about five or six all new faces from Miners Rest now,” Julie says.

She says they regularly get about 35 people during their Wednesday morning sessions, and around 50 people on Thursday evenings.

For anyone keen to return to, or try out line dancing, beginner and intermediate/advanced classes are held on Wednesdays from 9.30am and 10.30am respectively at a cost of $5 for the initial session and $7 for both, with the schedule repeated on Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm.