Article: Pay us to get out of flood zone

[ozbob]

From the Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

Pay us to get out of flood zone

Pay us to get out of flood zone

Bill Hoffman | 16th February 2012

PROPERTY owners and tenants in Price St, Nambour, want out of the flood-prone area which eventually will be needed for duplication of the Nambour-to-Gympie rail line.

And they have called on council to urgently address drainage issues that cause several businesses to flood after heavy downpours.

The Department of Environment and Resource Management yesterday rejected claims by Nambour councillor Paul Tatton that it had restricted council's ability to do the drainage work.

Property owner Graham Chapman said a build-up of debris under the Petrie Creek Bridge in Currie St contributed to businesses in Price St flooding regularly.

But he said the real solution was for the Department of Transport to buy properties it eventually would need for the rail duplication. This would allow buildings to be demolished and owners and tenants to relocate.

Member for Nicklin Peter Wellington has written to the state Transport Minister asking that the department act now to secure land it has indicated it will need.

He said eventually the buildings would need to be demolished and there would be a bridged rail line running over the top of the land.

The space created would provide a community link between town and Petrie Park playing fields.

Craig Lucey of the Nambour Exhaust Centre said he had 200mm of water through his business in January this year and 600mm in January last year.

Cost of insurance is so prohibitive that he doesn't carry it, instead wearing the $10,000 cost of replacing stock, shelving and furniture.

"It doesn't need three to four days of rain for it to flood here," he said. "It can happen in an hour."

Mr Lucey said part of the problem was a tangle of scaffolding left from previous work under the Petrie Creek Bridge which trapped other debris effectively damming the creek. The footbridge between the RSL and Woolworths also blocked the flow of water.

DERM's south-east regional director Randall Hart said councils had an exemption under the Water Act 2000, which allowed them to undertake a range of watercourse restoration activities immediately after a flood.

"There is no limit on the quantity of material that can be excavated or placed in a watercourse by the council," he said.

"There is no need for approval."