Urban Flooding Breakfast and Urban Water Symposium, July 2022
Urban Water Symposium speakers.
Image: Derwent Estuary Program
Across Tasmania, agencies continue to work together to assess, investigate and improve how we manage our stormwater and respond to flood events.
In June, we were proud to support and participate in a symposium to discuss flooding impacts and measures, and stormwater management in Tasmania.
The day started with a great opportunity to explore what is happening in the flood resilience space, and how we can plan for our future.
A panel of experts from across Tasmania shared their views on where we need to be heading and what the priorities are in managing floods. The panel included Erica Deegan from Launceston City Council, Frank Chen from the Bridgewater Bridge Project, Chris Irvine from SES (who is currently rewriting the flood code), Michael Plunkett from Master Builders Association and our own Anna Wilson from the Derwent Estuary Program.
The audience asked challenging and insightful questions about how our changing climate is influencing rainfall, and how we need to adapt the way we plan and manage flood risk. Education to build community resilience was a key theme as was identifying risks, and determining what the acceptable levels of risk are for our communities.
The symposium was an opportunity for a deep dive into how we can manage stormwater to beautify and enable our cities to be liveable. This included the technical details of how to make the most of the infrastructure used to manage stormwater, and how to keep it working to capture and/or treat pollution.
The breakfast was organised by the Tasmanian branches of the Australian Water Association and the Institute for Public Works Engineering Australia and sponsored by Veolia. The symposium was a Derwent Estuary Program event supported by OceanProtect.
Friday 26 August 2022