Floodplain Development !

Once again the weather bureaus is warning of a storm front that will deliver an unusually high tide, combined with a surge of giant waves that will threaten homes fronting onto Sydney beaches. There is the expectation that sand will be stripped away and home foundations undermined.

Flooding is fast becoming a new hazard with which Sydney homeowners have to contend.  Global warming will deliver a higher sea level and increase the risk of coastal inundation and the lack of new building sites is building pressure to extend housing onto flood plains.

We recently experienced abnormal rain which overfilled Warragamba dam and caused homes in the Hawksbury north of Sydney to flood.  This was financially damaging because victims were forced to replace costly items like carpets, electricals, furniture and bedding.  That incident was described as a one in a hundred years flood.

Councils have the power to refuse building approvals for flood plains but the need for housing in this ever growing city is causing a rethink. Sites that could expect moderate flooding at infrequent intervals are under pressure from developers.

The only alternative is extending the city ever outward and that creates problems with public transport and the provision of costly services.  There is also the impediment of national parks to the north and south, plus the barrier of the Blue Mountains to the west.  We will eventually reach the stage that the only land still available will be the flood plains.

With the right planning, this flood risk can be contained.   It would be essential that adequate escape roads be put in place to allow residents to evacuate in the event of a severe flood, and the size and type of housing would need to be strictly controlled.

There would need to be a complete ban on single story housing on concrete slabs on flood plains.  The living area would need to be elevated above the flood level and the area under the house used to garage cars.  Residents would need to accept that they would experience days of isolation during occasional floods and emergency services would need to be in place to deliver food and medical supplies.

The right type of building would eliminate water damage and the main disadvantage would be temporary isolation until the flood subsided.  There would be the expectation that a building site on a flood plain would be considerably cheaper than in a flood free area.

 The only alternative to that plan would be housing people in tower blocks. Learning to live with water may be a necessity in this twenty-first century.  A mix of the various types of housing can make Sydney  a more vibrant and interesting city - and solve out size problem !