On October 15, 2022, the Rochester town gauge measured the Campaspe River at a height of 115.66m (above sea level). For the locals, who fondly call the town “Rochy”, the flood water was as high as 30cm in some of their homes. Homes, business, and schools were left ruined when the small regional town was inundated with flood water, which was spilling from the nearby Lake Eppalock which had reached capacity.

Like many residents, to remain in Rochester after the floods, local teacher Eliza Watson’s family were forced to buy a caravan with insurance funds while her severely damaged home was being repaired. The family of six lasted for four months in that caravan parked in their driveway before they moved to live with a relative in the nearby town of Elmore.

Watson tells upstart the recovery process was “very slow, very very slow”. It took 10 months for the Watsons to move back home. Even though she describes the experience as “terrible”, she still feels fortunate.

“I hear of where other friends find it really hard to talk to others because they see that they’ve been back in their house for six months and they’re still fighting insurance and it’s really hard,” she says.

Watson says that according to a recent flood recovery group meeting, it is estimated about 200 houses are yet to have repairs started.

“About 70 homes are kind of in the middle of active work… there is over 50 houses for sale, which is very unusual,” she says.

Federal Member of Parliament for Nicholls, which encompasses Rochester, Sam Birrell sees the challenges and “arguments” residents are having with insurance companies and doesn’t think they should have to.

“These sort of disputes over assessment and what was the pre-existing condition and what a result of the floods, that’s been a bit disappointing,” he tells upstart.

Last year, Premier Jacinta Allan acknowledged the recovery in Rochester still had “a long way to go,” and pledged her ongoing support for the community.

Lake Eppalock sits at a capacity of anywhere between 90 to 100 percent at any given time. Prior to the 2022 floods, and the large rains that preceded them, it sat at 98 percent.

“We want to see action taken at Lake Eppalock to make sure that we can pre-release water when big rain events come,” Watson says.

Currently engineers are researching ways to improve Lake Eppalock so that large spills can be avoided in the future – something the Rochester Flood Recovery Group is desperately advocating for.

“That’s an ongoing process, but I think it needs to be happening faster than it is,” Birrell says.

Watson says that it’s reassuring to have the state government promise to “act on”, any recommendations the Lake Eppalock assessment makes, but locals’ concerns are still lingering.

While there is progress being made, many residents are still left in their driveways, parked by the nature strip their flood-soaked belongings once were piled up on, waiting to see when they can move back into their homes.

Article: Harrison Shortis is a second-year Bachelor of Media and Communications (Journalism) student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter @HarryShortis1

Cover Photo: Supplied by Katie Rasmussen

Photo: More-water-lots-more by Grant Coady is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.