Urban Floodplain Land-use – Acceptable Risk?

Abstract

Local Government, for the planning and management of potentially flood-affected areas, adopt formal levels of ‘acceptable’ flood risk (for example, the-1-in-100 year flood event for residential land). The results of this study suggest stakeholders external to the Local Government (such as residents and a proportion of development industry representatives) do not understand the risks flooding represented by the formal standards and may misinterpret their level of exposure. The results also indicate that variation exists in the flood risks perceived ‘acceptable’ by the stakeholders, particularly when the potential consequences associated with events such as the 1-in-100-year flood are explained. The study raises doubts as to the true ‘acceptability’ of the formal standards being adopted in floodplain management policy at the Local, State and Federal levels of Government.