LAND USE AND FLOOD RISK THROUGH CATCHMENT FLOOD‐MANAGEMENT PLANS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Catchment Flood Management Plans involve a high‐level assessment of current flood risk and attempt to demonstrate how this risk could change with time. An influencing factor will be the changes to rural and urban land use on catchment hydraulics. By assessing a range of land use and urban‐growth scenarios catchment wide, a ‘catchment flood management plan’ can demonstrate the cumulative effect on downstream flood‐risk areas. ‘Catchment flood management plan’ methods also indicate how long‐term land‐use and climate changes can expose new areas to more frequent flooding. Techniques to assess these issues, up to a 50‐year horizon, have been established as part of these pilot studies. In addition to briefly describing how land‐use concerns are integrated into such concepts, this paper outlines how flood‐management planning must evolve as a dynamic tool, to fulfil an on‐going requirement for future development assessment.