Draft Sutherland Shire Overland Flow - Flood Study

Consultation period: now closed (26 October 2023 - 31 March 2024)

The public exhibition and consultation period was extended to 31 March 2024 to provide enough time for all people in the study area to make enquiries and for property owners to get more information relating to their property.

Council has prepared a draft Overland Flow - Flood Study for the Sutherland Shire, which is a legal requirement of the NSW Government, to manage flood risks.

All NSW councils must prepare this as part of the NSW State Government’s Flood Prone Land Policy. Sutherland Shire Council is completing a requirement that has been outstanding for a number of years.

The aim of this State Government Policy and the Flood Study is to help keep people and property in our community safe from the impact of severe, sudden rain, which causes ‘over land’ or flash flooding. During flash floods, stormwater drains fill quickly and the excess rainfall flows over land.

About the draft study

The State Government sets out the guidelines and provides advice on how Flood Studies need to be undertaken.

Council engaged specialist flood management consultants to prepare this draft Study. The State Government’s guidelines and programs for Floodplain Management and advice from the NSW Department of Environment and Planning has been used in preparing this draft Flood Study. The studies determine what land has the potential to be affected by flooding.

Knowing the flood risks associated with your property means you can create a personalised flood response plan to protect yourself and minimise damage during floods.

You can find out more information via our FAQs section and view the draft Flood Study report - we recommend starting with the Executive Summary (5 pages).

Have your say

To help shape our communities flood management strategies we want to hear your feedback on the draft Sutherland Shire Overland Flood Study.

Our specialist flood team are available to look further at the specifics of your property and it being identified in the Flood Study.

We sought feedback from our community until 31 March 2024.

Next steps

We will review all feedback received and may make changes to the draft Flood Study before finalisation. The draft Flood Study will be reported to the Council for consideration for adoption. Council will then use the Flood Study to make planning decisions, to protect the community, and inform flood risk mitigation in a Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan.