Action on flooding? It won't happen
I understand why the council involves stakeholders in discussions.
It is to avoid confusion with the glut of conflicting documents.
Did anyone expect more than "minor updates" to the Way Woy Flood Plain Management Study and Plan (Peninsula News, June 26)?
With 40,000 residents living on the Peninsula, tackling this matter will require a huge commitment from the council.
It won't happen.
It is almost five years since the Woy Woy Bowling Club proposal was rejected by the Joint Regional Planning Panel due to flood levels.
What actions has the council taken to address tidal inudation in the vicinity of the proposal?
At a recent Land and Environment Court conciliation meeting on the Peninsula, I advised the Commissioner that the council has not updated its climate change advice since March 2015.
Is this the action of a council that accepts the problem of flooding?
Or does it indicate the council will defer all necessary action to a time when it will hand-off all responsibility to residents and claim it does not have the resources and staff to assist those facing upheaval?
Emergency evacuation drills will be a waste of resources as the development density increases.
The emergency plan will need to be updated annually.
What will be the council's education message?
Will it be transparent or will it focus on more development and platitudes?
It is no surprise the Plan "recommends further feasibility assessment".
The council will not want to tackle the filling of low lying areas.
Contention exists between filling individual landholdings recommended in this Plan and regional filling and levees, suggested in the Brisbane Water Foreshore Flood Management Study.
Confusion is assured.
SOURCE:
Letter, 29 Jun 2023
Norm Harris, Umina