Building on flood plains ?

Surely the misery happening to thousands of home owners across eastern Australia should have planning authorities taking a second look at development plans to build on known flood plains !

The damage caused when rising water floods through a person's home is immense.  Firstly, there is the trauma of being forced to evacuate to a flood shelter, and then the return to find cherished possessions covered in stinking silt, damaged beyond repair - and the heartbreak of starting over.    The anguish of waiting to see if insurance cover will be accepted - or rejected.     And above all - the uncertainty of wondering if the battle to recover is worth while - because living on a flood plain brings with it the sure knowledge that there will be future similar flooding !

Here in the Illawarra two very big developments are about to start - and both are located on known flood plains.

Calderwood and West Dapto will almost double the future populations of Wollongong and Shellharbour.   This area is bursting at the seams as the outflow from Sydney looks to find building land in cities locked in between the sea and the escarpment.    It seems that the options are really limited to accepting the flood plain  risk - or remaining static in size and population.

Unfortunately, one of the aims of both Calderwood and West Dapto is to relieve the pressure for cheap building blocks.   As a result,  the homes to be built will be modest in size - and the common base will be concrete slabs - and this sort of construction does not provide relief from rising waters.   We will be condemning the " battlers " who will be the future residents to the same sort of misery being experienced by the people living on flat land and near rivers and creeks in existing eastern Australian cities and towns.

If these developments do go ahead, surely it must be policy to insist on a form of construction design that can withstand floods.   Homes constructed with the living quarters elevated, to accommodate car parking and BBQ areas underneath can cope with floods without major damage.    They are more expensive to build initially, but when the devastating cost of flood damage is taken into consideration - that is money well spent.

We are not doing the " battlers " good service if we provide cheap building blocks and allow flood prone houses to be built on them.   If the only option is to build on a flood plain, then it would be good planning design to restrict development to accommodate the risk.

The biggest act of stupidity - would be to ignore the illustration of what the future holds - as it unfolds on television screens right before our eyes.