Floodplain Management
Floodplain Management is based on making trade off decisions about the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of allowing a broad range of activities to take place on floodplains.
It involves the application a range of measures including:
- Best practice guidelines, strategies and processes to manage the flood risk
- Studies, flood maps, land use planning controls, building regulations and research to understand the flood risk, help prevent future flood damages and to minimise threats to life, health and safety
- Community awareness, education and training to improve preparedness when a flood occurs
- Structural measures to reduce the risk of flooding to existing properties
- Flood warning and emergency response measures to manage the flood risk when floods overwhelm existing measures.
Key objectives of floodplain management are to:
- Minimise the potential for loss of life, risk to health and damage to property
- Preserve and enhance the environmental values of floodplains, including flora and fauna habitats, wetlands, areas of significant landscape interest or areas having archaeological significance
- Prevent further deterioration of water quality and reduction in stream stability
- Preserve the natural function of the floodplain to convey and store floodwater.