Floodplain management in Australia : best practice principles and guidelines.

Includes bibliography (p. 94-95) and index

This document aims to provide a set of best practice principles and guidelines for the management of the risks associated with flooding across the floodplains of Australia. The floodplains are considered as land subject to flooding by the largest flood that could occur at a particular location. The principles define the context of floodplain management and the guidelines develop the principles further and deal with practical issues that should be considered as part of the floodplain management process. Because flooding is site specific, not all issues will be appropriate to every situation. These principles and guidelines have been developed to assist all levels of government, the private sector and the community to manage, in partnership, the flood risk associated with Australia's floodplains on a sustainable basis for the benefit of both present and future generations. This document is directed to flood hazard management - the most critical aspect of floodplain management. Although the importance of ecological and resource management issues is recognised and incorporated in floodplain management, this document does not discuss these issues in depth. The document does not address the issues of vegetation or wetland management, the protection of threatened species or biodiversity in any detail, except as they relate to the human occupation of the floodplain. However, these issues must still be accounted for in the production and implementation of a floodplain management plan. The management of the flood risk associated with the use of the floodplain is a critical part of the overall catchment management process and it is to this specific facet that this document is directed. Flooding caused by overloaded stormwater pipe systems is not explicitly addressed in this document