FAIRER insurance premiums and a more sensible approach to flood plain management.
That is what Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale and Deputy Mayor Paul Tully says should be the result of the new Brisbane River Catchment Flood Study Report released today.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the study incorporated 170 years of historical rainfall data and investigated 11,340 scenarios that influence flooding, in a process “involving more than 50,000 computer simulations which has helped us produce Australia’s first ever whole of catchment flood study”.
“The Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry recommended this study because there is currently no single flood model that councils can use that provided a common and consistent basis for land-use planning, disaster management and building community resilience,” Ms Trad said.
Cr Pisasale said the unique study had come about after a four-year partnership between the Queensland Government and Seqwater and Ipswich, Brisbane, Lockyer Valley and Somerset councils following the devastating 2011 floods.
He said the flood study was “the flood bible for planners” and said it had been put together by “the best of the best”.
“While councils are still the best source of information for detailed, localised flood information, the study will support a more coordinated approach to managing floods across all levels of government in the future,” he said.
“Insurance companies have been giving people bills based on postcodes and making a lot of money out of people’s tragedy.
“But now they have got a document which will give people certainty and they will know if they are being charged extra for flood insurance when they are not in a flood area.
“It will give certainty for people buying property and certainty for planners.
“We are not going to allow development in flood areas and we will not be making the mistakes of the past.”
Ipswich Deputy Mayor Paul Tully, who lost his Goodna home in the 2011 flood, has welcome the report and described it as a “sensible approach to flood plain management”.
Cr Tully said residents of Goodna which was the worst-affected suburb in southeast Queensland in the 2011 flood with 600 properties flooded would benefit from the findings.
He said the report proposed a possible new flood regulation line at Goodna of 16.5 metres AHD which was two metres lower than the current adopted flood level of 18.6 metres.
He said 16.5 metres was equal to the 2011 Brisbane River flood at Goodna and 18.6 metres was the 1974 flood level.
AHD is Australian Height Datum and generally reflects normal sea or river levels.
If adopted by the Ipswich City Council, this would enable more properties near the edge of the current flood zone at Goodna around the William St, Queen St, Bertha St and Parker St areas to be redeveloped.
“I fully support the adoption of the new flood regulation line by Ipswich City Council which is a sensible compromise for both commercial and residential development.”
Cr Tully also called for insurance companies to adopt the new flood line and reduce flood insurance premiums across Ipswich and Brisbane.
“This should lead to lower insurance premiums as a matter of fairness and equity, two virtues not normally associated with insurance companies,” Cr Tully said.
Ms Trad said the Brisbane River catchment area spanned “more than 13,500 square kilometres with the floodplain downstream of Wivenhoe Dam spanning the four local government areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, Somerset and Lockyer Valley.”
Originally Published: https://www.qt.com.au/