Latest news with #floodmitigation
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
County council redirects net-zero cash to flood defences
A Reform UK council has reallocated £2m from an earmarked carbon reduction reserve to flood mitigation initiatives. Leicestershire County Council also approved a change in focus of its previously agreed net-zero action plan from reducing carbon emissions to climate adaptation and responding to severe weather events. Adam Tilbury, cabinet member for environment and flooding, told colleagues he "fully supports" moving the funds, saying the threat of flooding was "here and now". Conservative councillor Deborah Taylor warned in the coming years Parliament may expand the council's legal duties in tackling climate change and she could not see anything in the report that "mitigates this risk". In 2022 the previous administration set aside a £2m reserve to provide initial investment in carbon reduction initiatives and agreed a net-zero strategy to end Leicestershire's contribution to global warming by 2045. In February 2024, this was reassessed in light of the council's "increasingly constrained" financial position, and a target of 2050 to reach net-zero in the county was set, council documents addedDeputy leader of the council, Joseph Boam said: "I think it's absolutely great to see us starting to scrap the wasteful net stupid zero agenda."And instead putting the funding towards something that actually matters, like tackling flooding, which has been neglected for far too long in Leicestershire." 'Virtue signalling' Council documents said on 6 January, during an unnamed storm, significant rainfall led to the "worst flooding event" in recent history in to the authority, an estimated 900 properties across the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) region were flooded - including a confirmed 717 in Leicestershire. Reform UK councillor Harrison Fowler said: "UK authorities of all sizes like to parade their net-zero efforts around like some badge of honour."But in reality, it's nothing more than shallow virtue signalling and PR."Council documents prepared for the meeting said the role of local government in combating climate change had been "constrained by a lack of a clear legal duty as well as a lack of funding from the government".The documents said the Environmental Targets Bill was currently before Parliament, which aims to introduce a statutory objective requiring public bodies to contribute to the delivery of targets to address climate report added: "In summary, the proposal under consideration presently appears lawful. "However, the cabinet should have in mind that, in the coming years, Parliament may well expand the council's legal duties."
Malay Mail
07-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Flood-prone Hulu Langat to get RM512m upgrade; design work now underway, says exco
SHAH ALAM, July 7 — The Selangor State Legislative Assembly was briefed today on the progress of the Hulu Langat Flood Mitigation Project Phase 2, now in the detailed design phase. State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim said once the design phase is complete, the project will proceed with land acquisition and utility relocation before physical construction begins, which is expected to start in 2027. 'The project covers several areas, including Kajang town, Kampung Sungai Serai, Kampung Sungai Lui, Kampung Dusun Tua, Taman Sri Nanding, Taman Sri Jelok, and Kampung Sungai Kantan. 'The work involves river deepening, constructing embankments and water gates, as well as installing pumps and building water retention ponds,' he said during the assembly sitting here today. He was responding to an oral question from Datuk Johan Abd Aziz (BN-Dusun Tua) regarding the status of the Hulu Langat flood mitigation plan. The project, part of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), entails the construction of Phase 2, Package 1 of the Sungai Langat Flood Mitigation Plan in Hulu Langat District, with a budget allocation of RM512 million. — Bernama
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Auckland Council plan to use Takapuna Golf Course to prevent flooding risks 'hurts the game'
Ryan Fox of New Zealand lifts the championship trophy after winning the Canadian Open, 2025. Photo: Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox is lending his support to the campaign to save the Takapuna Golf Course on Auckland's North Shore, saying it is a true community asset. Auckland Council was proposing converting half the course into a flood catchment and recreational area to to deal with potential flooding, after the area suffered badly in the 2023 Auckland Anniversary storm. Council head of sustainable partnerships Tom Mansell said in a statement earlier this year that a wide range of flood mitigation options had been considered. "A comprehensive range of interventions have been considered with the goal of delivering maximum flood reduction benefits in both the short and long-term. One of the proposed options includes developing AF Thomas Park, the site of the Takapuna golf course, into a recreational flood storage wetland." The proposal was to use the land to capture about 550,000 litres of water during a storm, reducing the flood risk to 10 hectares of homes, nearby schools and North Shore Hospital. The council was also working with Takapuna Golf Club to assess an alternative proposal, which would retain the 18-hole golf course while also acting as a flood catchment. New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox said public, cheap golf courses such as Takapuna's were critical to the sport. "You can literally just rock up at Takapuna, pay a green fee and go and play. If you go with a family, if you compare it to going to a rugby game or whatever it's a pretty comparable cost in that respect for four hours of family fun at a public golf course. "New Zealand is considered really, really cheap for golf and if we lose a place like Takapuna we lose some of that, and I think it hurts the game a lot recreationally." Fox was backing the golf club's alternative proposal to retain the golf course while also acting as a flood catchment, as was Golf NZ. If Auckland Council's plan goes ahead, this 10th tee would no longer exist Photo: Davina Zimmer Golf NZ chief executive Jeff Latch said converting half of the course into a stormwater reservoir would be a missed opportunity. "Golf in New Zealand is on an absolute high - the growth that's taken place in terms of golf club membership has been 50 percent in the last five years. If you think about that for a mature sport like golf, that is just colossal growth. "Auckland's got a real issue - there's this massive growth in demand and people wanting to play golf but we don't have enough golf courses, and so public golf courses like Takapuna are absolutely critical to enable golfers to actually go out and have a hit." In a statement, Auckland Council said it would not prioritise golf enthusiasts over the need to protect people's lives and properties from extreme flooding. It said the golf club's alternative proposal was unfeasible due to cost and maintenance factors. The council was now assessing Takapuna Golf Club's revised design and said it should be closer to a decision in the next couple of weeks. Construction on any approved plan for the flood catchment at the golf course was not expected to begin until 2027. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
ABC News
29-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
CSIRO creates pinpoint accurate model of Richmond River catchment to test flood mitigation options
In an effort to better understand flood behaviour in one of the wettest parts of Australia, scientists have turned the region's river system into a virtual model. The CSIRO has mapped the Richmond River catchment in northern New South Wales at an unprecedented level of detail. The first-of-its-kind model will help test the most effective way of protecting communities against floods. Senior principal research scientist Jai Vaze said it was a detailed mathematical representation of the 7,000-square-kilometre catchment. It includes millions of data inputs capturing flood-relevant factors including topography, hydrology, evaporation, soil types and vegetation. "To look at any flood-mitigation scenarios reliably, whether it will work or not, you need a catchment-scale model," Dr Vaze said. The model shows how flooding unfolded across a six-week period in 2022 across the catchment. Its pinpoint accuracy relies in part on Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data refined to hourly readings localised to one-square-kilometre grids. It may sound simple enough, but the model has been the result of more than two years of painstaking work by Dr Vaze and his team. Lidar technology with 3D laser scanning gathered 16 measurement points per square metre across 30,000 square kilometres of the Tweed, Brunswick, Richmond and Clarence river catchments. The team used sonar to collect high-resolution data on river depths and riverbed undulation. Dr Vaze said the model would have the capacity to accurately test the effect of various flood mitigation options, or "bundles" of options, that could include hard infrastructure such as levees. He said the project shifted the dial from reactive flood responses to actively planning ahead to mitigate their effects. "The government wanted to look at whether something could really be done [to mitigate flooding]. "There are a number of local area models built over past decades, but a full catchment model was needed to answer any real questions for flood mitigation." The 2022 Northern Rivers floods have cost the NSW and federal governments $880 million in reactive solutions designed to move people off the flood plain, or elevate and retrofit people's homes to withstand the next flood when it inevitably comes. A further $150 million has been allocated to resilience measures including repairs and upgrades to pumping stations, improvements to town drains and flood channels, establishing community-led resilience teams and reforestation projects. The Lismore Citizens Flood Review Group has been lobbying for action to address flooding in the catchment since the Cyclone Debbie flood of 2017, and worked closely with Dr Vaze to feed local knowledge into the model. Beth Trevan and her son Richard said it was serendipitous good fortune that led to then National Recovery and Resilience Agency coordinator Shane Stone supporting and funding the project. Mrs Trevan said it was also the region's great fortune that Dr Vaze was assigned to do the job. "He is totally committed to the region and solving the problem," she said. "He has given his life to it for the past three years, seven days a week — he never stops working on it. "What is being developed is international best practice; it's not only going to be a template for Australia, it's going to be a template internationally. Richard Trevan said a lot was riding on the success of the model in coming up with flood-mitigation solutions for the Richmond River catchment. "We are the most at-risk community in the nation for floods, but to date fully effective solutions have not been implemented," Mr Trevan said. "Nationally, just 3 per cent of government funding has gone into mitigation while 97 per cent is spent on recovery. "Lismore has one chance to get this right. For us, it's about getting the final recommendation to the point where our politicians can actually move forward and make the kinds of changes that are needed. "Ultimately, for our kids and our grandkids, we want them to be able to look back at this moment and say that we got it right." Whian Whian resident Patrick Tatam has lived for a decade at the headwaters of a tributary feeding the catchment. When the rain really comes down at his place, two-hourly checks of his rain gauge reveal what's in store for downstream communities including Lismore, Coraki and Woodburn. He is skeptical that anything can be done to protect them. "It is strong and violent."
ABC News
29-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
CSIRO creates 3D model of Richmond River catchment to test flood mitigation options
In an effort to better understand flood behaviour in one of the wettest parts of Australia, scientists have turned the region's river system into a virtual model. The CSIRO has mapped the Richmond River catchment in northern New South Wales at an unprecedented level of detail. The first-of-its-kind model will help test the most effective way of protecting communities against floods. Senior principal research scientist Jai Vaze said it was a detailed mathematical representation of the 7,000-square-kilometre catchment. It includes millions of data inputs capturing flood-relevant factors including topography, hydrology, evaporation, soil types and vegetation. "To look at any flood-mitigation scenarios reliably, whether it will work or not, you need a catchment-scale model," Dr Vaze said. The model shows how flooding unfolded across a six-week period in 2022 across the catchment. Its pinpoint accuracy relies in part on Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data refined to hourly readings localised to one-square-kilometre grids. It may sound simple enough, but the model has been the result of more than two years of painstaking work by Dr Vaze and his team. Lidar technology with 3D laser scanning gathered 16 measurement points per square metre across 30,000 square kilometres of the Tweed, Brunswick, Richmond and Clarence river catchments. The team used sonar to collect high-resolution data on river depths and riverbed undulation. Dr Vaze said the model would have the capacity to accurately test the effect of various flood mitigation options, or "bundles" of options, that could include hard infrastructure such as levees. He said the project shifted the dial from reactive flood responses to actively planning ahead to mitigate their effects. "The government wanted to look at whether something could really be done [to mitigate flooding]. "There are a number of local area models built over past decades, but a full catchment model was needed to answer any real questions for flood mitigation." The 2022 Northern Rivers floods have cost the NSW and federal governments $880 million in reactive solutions designed to move people off the flood plain, or elevate and retrofit people's homes to withstand the next flood when it inevitably comes. A further $150 million has been allocated to resilience measures including repairs and upgrades to pumping stations, improvements to town drains and flood channels, establishing community-led resilience teams and reforestation projects. The Lismore Citizens Flood Review Group has been lobbying for action to address flooding in the catchment since the Cyclone Debbie flood of 2017, and worked closely with Dr Vaze to feed local knowledge into the model. Beth Trevan and her son Richard said it was serendipitous good fortune that led to then National Recovery and Resilience Agency coordinator Shane Stone supporting and funding the project. Mrs Trevan said it was also the region's great fortune that Dr Vaze was assigned to do the job. "He is totally committed to the region and solving the problem," she said. "He has given his life to it for the past three years, seven days a week — he never stops working on it. "What is being developed is international best practice; it's not only going to be a template for Australia, it's going to be a template internationally. Richard Trevan said a lot was riding on the success of the model in coming up with flood-mitigation solutions for the Richmond River catchment. "We are the most at-risk community in the nation for floods, but to date fully effective solutions have not been implemented," Mr Trevan said. "Nationally, just 3 per cent of government funding has gone into mitigation while 97 per cent is spent on recovery. "Lismore has one chance to get this right. For us, it's about getting the final recommendation to the point where our politicians can actually move forward and make the kinds of changes that are needed. "Ultimately, for our kids and our grandkids, we want them to be able to look back at this moment and say that we got it right." Whian Whian resident Patrick Tatam has lived for a decade at the headwaters of a tributary feeding the catchment. When the rain really comes down at his place, two-hourly checks of his rain gauge reveal what's in store for downstream communities including Lismore, Coraki and Woodburn. He is skeptical that anything can be done to protect them. "It is strong and violent."
