2016-07-18 General Committee Meeting - Item 3 - Attachment 1 - Flood Management Plan

Requirements for minimum floor levels to achieve                9.2 Climate Change




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acceptable standards of flood immunity are presented in




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the Detached House Code and the Building Works Code.            Along with other levels of government, Councils have




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                                                                a responsibility for planning and preparing for natural




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The planning scheme provisions also reflect the State           hazard risks within the community, and this includes
Planning Policy for Safety and resilience to hazards.           longer term climate related risks associated with flooding,
                                                                extreme storms, coastal erosion, and changes to rainfall
Council is under some pressure to allow basement carparks
                                                                and temperature.
that can be mechanically pumped in a flood event, as
different to the current position of required underground       The increasing severity of natural hazards and future
carparks to be gravity fed. While Council has made              liability risks means council needs to be taking steps to
some allowance for commercial basement carparks to be           understand the risks to the community, infrastructure and
mechanically pumped, it is not recommended that this be         assets and identifying solutions for the short, medium and
allow for residential developments where resident’s cars        long term.
are at risk. Nonetheless consideration should be given to
new technologies for basement flood prevention and the          Current projections by 2100 indicate:
scheme should ensure that it is written in a way that does
                                                                •   A projected regional sea level rise of 0.8m. This is
not stifle the adoption of innovative solutions.
                                                                    expected to contribute to an increase in the frequency
Council has commenced work on a new planning scheme                 and severity of coastal flooding, increase in tidal
for Noosa Shire which is expected to include similar detailed       extremes and increased coastal erosion
policy positions around flooding and best available flood       •   A southward shift in tropical cyclone activity
mapping as per the current scheme that takes account of
                                                                •   Fewer cyclones but an increase in the intensity of
current and future climate. The new scheme should ensure
                                                                    cyclones and extreme storm events of up to 10%.
flood management outcomes are consistent with broader
policy outcomes and principles for the Shire as set out in      •   More heatwaves: The number of days over 35 degrees
this Plan.                                                          is projected to increase by an additional 30 days per
                                                                    annum by 2100.
Improvements in the consistency between development
                                                                •   Accelerated coastal erosion
application and assessment processes can be gained by
providing clear guidance on preferred or acceptable             •   Permanent inundation of low lying areas
methods and parameters for undertaking flooding analysis        •   Increased areas impacted by storm surge and king
in this region. As for most studies of natural processes            tides
numerous assumptions are required to be made in order
                                                                •   Property and infrastructure may not be constructed to
to simulate the characteristics of the natural environment.
                                                                    cope with increasingly frequent and extreme weather
These characteristics can change from region to region and
                                                                    events.
some parameters may be subject to professional judgement
and local preferences. Where possible, it is recommended
that guidance be provided to outline acceptable (or
recommended) standards for common parameters
required in flood analysis.




                                                                                    Noosa Council | Flood Management Plan | Page 31