A flood of concern

By Lia Bichel
THE Growth Areas Authority has hit back at claims it is planning housing developments on low-lying flood-prone land in Casey.
The City of Casey said it was concerned the authority was proceeding with extensive planning for urban development at the Berwick Waterways Precinct Structure Plan site despite repeated warnings from them about unresolved drainage and potential flooding issues.
The site is bounded by Greaves Road, Centre Road, Homestead Road and Golf Links Road, adjacent to a major Melbourne Water drainage channel.
City of Casey mayor Shar Balmes said the authority was moving ahead with planning for the “flood-prone” land despite a range of unresolved issues which “could lead to significant waste as the project’s feasibility has not been fully determined”.
But the authority’s CEO Peter Seamer denied there was extensive planning for the area. He said there was “absolutely never any questions” of developments proceeding before flooding issues were solved.
“A number of residents are keen to develop but we are not in the position to do that until all issues with the drainage problems are resolved,” Mr Seamer said.
Casey Council said Melbourne Water had not yet committed support for this project.
The council believed Melbourne Water’s resources should go towards resolving drainage issues in established residential areas – that had become apparent in the February floods – instead of being diverted to solv-ing flooding issues for land that has yet to be developed.
Melbourne Water spokes-man Nicolas McGay said the flooding that occurred in February would “stretch the capacity of any drainage system”.
“Melbourne has a robust draining system this is built to national standards and handles most storms,” he said.
“We saw in excess of a 1-in-500 year storm in some parts of Melbourne during the February event. Many of our rain gauges in the area recorded more than three times the average rainfall for the month of February in just one day, and most of it came in just two to four hours.”
He said Melbourne Water was currently reviewing the Berwick Waterways Precinct Structure Plan to ensure any new development in the area meets the 1-in-100-year flood protection standard.
“The review will help identify drainage infrastructure such as retarding basins and levee banks that must be built to satisfy our flood protection guidelines,” Mr McGay said.
“The review will also identify the required building controls that need to be put in place, such as the height of lot and floor levels.”
City of Casey strategic development manager Liam Hodgetts said the council would contact the authority again to advise them that further steps in the development process should be postponed until feasibility issues have been resolved.
“A number of background technical reports have yet to be completed or have not been forwarded to council officers for comment. These include ecology and traffic reports and an updated development feasibility study,” he said.