Conference Paper

The origin of floodplain management in NSW lies in the establishment of towns on floodplains in the nineteenth century, where there was fertile soil and proximity to water and water transport. The European heritage of the early settlers did not prepare them for the extremes of the Australian climate, and there were many early flood disasters. However, the demand of reliable fresh water, water borne transport and fertile lands, generally outweighed the flood risk, and a need to live with and manage that risk was established. Despite this early conflict of interests, the problem of floodplain management was not formally addressed by the NSW Government until the 1950's, when a flood mitigation works program was first established. The works program was augmented in the late 1970's with planning controls aimed at discouraging further unwise development on flood liable land. This combination of tools was reasonably successful in containing the growth of mounting flood losses. However, it sterilised large tracts of land, and growing objections from flood liable land owners finally caused the Government to modify the policy. A revised policy was announced in December 1984, which required that floodplains be managed by local government according to the merits of particular situations. The policy required that due weight be given to social, economic and ecological considerations as well as flooding, and is compatible with the State's environmental legislation. Current indications are that it is appropriate to today's social attitudes, and is likely to carry us into the third century of European settlement. It is now supported by a detailed Floodplain Development Manual.