Levees have a played a significant role in managing floods in Victoria.

Levee construction began in Victoria in the late 1800s and by the turn of the 20th century, significant strategic levees were being constructed along the Goulburn and Murray Rivers, protecting large areas from small and moderate floods. 

During the 20th century, levees continued to be constructed by government agencies, river improvement trusts and private landowners to protect farmland.  Significant levees were constructed by authorities in the North East, West and East Gippsland and along the Murray River at Torrumbarry, Pental Island and the Tyntynder Flats downstream of Swan Hill.

Although construction of rural levees by government and local authorities had mostly ceased by the 1960s, changes in farming practice from grazing to cropping in floodplains, together with a series of significant floods in the 1950s and 1970s and a lack of planning controls, saw a proliferation of private levee construction. 

The introduction of planning schemes with controls on earthworks towards the end of the 20th century saw a reduction in the growth of private levees, with the requirement to obtain a permit, but this has certainly not stopped some private levees being constructed without a permit.

Levees are raised embankments which protect areas from flooding. A study in 2000 found that:

• There are a minimum of 4,000 km of levees across Victoria.
• About 50 km (1%) of these are urban levees protecting towns with clear management arrangements.
• Approximately 820 km (21%) are rural levees built with some support from the State Government at some point in the past, either directly through a statutory authority or through unemployment relief.
• There are a minimum of 3100 km (78%) of rural levees that have been constructed privately.

Levees can successfully protect high-value assets on floodplains, but they have intrinsic problems. These problems include:

• If a levee is breached or is overtopped (usually by a flood that is larger then the levee was designed for), then the damage within the area confined by the levee can be worse than if there was no levee built.  Also, the area behind the levee can fill with water that is then difficult to remove.
• Building a levee always has an effect on the flood by confining flow, or by directing flow into new paths. Thus a levee has consequences for other parties using the floodplain. 
• Levees are only as successful as their weakest segment. This means that, where they protect larger areas of floodplain, they have to be constructed and maintained cooperatively. 
• By reducing the frequency of flooding on floodplains, levees can have adverse environmental effects. Ground water and nutrient balances are affected by levees, as are plants and animals dependent on the connectivity of river systems and their floodplains. Predictions of long term reductions in seasonal rainfall associated with climate change will aggravate these problems.

However, levees have also been responsible for protecting large communities in urban areas from the devastating effects of flooding and prevented damages of millions of dollars. They have also prevented damage to agricultural enterprises and enabled large areas to become highly productive.

Maintenance of levees

• Private landowners are responsible for maintaining levees on their land. They may be required to obtain a planning permit to undertake works from their local council.
• Local councils and/or Melbourne Water are generally responsible for maintaining levees which protect urban communities.
• There are a number of levees on public land, built many years ago, whose ownership is uncertain and therefore with no body directly responsible for their maintenance.