In August 2020 Moruya was on floodwatch. Photo: Karyn Starmer.
At a recent Eurobodalla Shire Council public access meeting attention was drawn to the proposed planning controls associated with the draft Moruya Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan (MFRMSP) and its implications for future development in the CBD and surrounds.
Kerri Riches, president of the Moruya Country Markets’ management committee, asked councillors why the registered not-for-profit had not received any discounts over the past 18 years or so.
Council’s draft schedule of fees and charges for 2026/27 proposes that Moruya Country Markets receives a 40 per cent discount, in line with the discount that SAGE Farmers Market receives. It is the first time council has proposed applying a discount to the Moruya Country Markets.
Moruya resident Lachlan Bain is an environmental engineer with more than 12 years’ experience in the water management field who spoke about the MFRMSP.
He drew councillors’ attention to the proposed planning controls that require any new development to demonstrate that evacuation is possible at, or close to the ‘probable maximum flood event’ (PMF event).
The modelling in the draft MFRMSP has estimated flood levels in a range of probability events. These include the one per cent AEP (annual exceedance probability) event, about a one in 100-year event, and the PMF event. It is the maximum possible, very big and very rare, likely greater than a 1 in 10,000 year event.
The one per cent AEP event flood level has increased from 5.1 metres to 6.3 metres due to climate change. That means a larger area and more properties would be impacted.
The PMF event level has increased from 7.6 metres to 9.5 metres. The result is a difference of more than three metres between the one per cent AEP event and the PMF event.
Mr Bain said those two levels were important because they drove much of the planning controls around what could and couldn’t be done in the floodplain. It specifies things such as floor levels, building materials and emergency response, with the proposed emergency response controls being the most restrictive.
He said the large difference between the one per cent AEP event and PMF event meant the required evacuation response was not possible and would prevent development in most of the yellow and blue areas (below).
Parts of Moruya depicted by flood constraint category. Photo: Supplied.
“This proposed control is highly restrictive, particularly given the Moruya Floodplain is well served by a flood warning system provided by the Bureau of Meteorology that provides flood warning to Moruya for much smaller events than the one per cent AEP and PMF,” he said.
He said there was a significant lag between rainfall in the catchment and the flood wave.
“Unfortunately the MFRMSP does not consider the opportunity cost of such onerous restrictions in their recommendations,” Mr Bain said. “Much of the CBD would no longer be able to be developed, even for commercial development such as a mechanic, or cafe, and existing buildings may not be able to be improved. Existing residential development in the blue areas may not be able to be rebuilt or vacant land built on.”
He was concerned about the social and economic impacts of limiting opportunities to rebuild or improve development within the floodplain. “Leaving large parts of the town effectively in a time capsule, or worse, would lead to significant economic and employment impacts on the town.”
He said council should accept the MFRMSP but explicitly not adopt the proposed land use planning updates, listed as PM04, as they were too restrictive.
“These controls could be developed separately by council with the community as part of preparing the new development control plans for the area, and could be done in conjunction with improvements to the flood warning system,” he said.
He said the recommended planning controls were setting the bars too high. “You need to weigh up the risks of having people on the floodplain. I think there is a more nuanced approach.”
Moruya Country Markets is an outlet for local producers and artisans. Photo: Supplied.
Ms Riches wanted to understand why council had not given Moruya Country Markets discounts in the past given it was a registered not-for-profit that gave all profits back to the local community.
“For the 20 years we have been at Riverside Park, 19 years of rent to council was $1,322,827,” she said. “If we had got the 40 per cent discount we would be $529,000 better off.”
Submissions on the draft fees and charges for 2026/27 close at 4:30 pm on 31 May.
