Residents from Casey’s coastal communities came together last week at a community information session on Council’s Coastal Framework. The session was focused on how we can work together to build a resilient coastal community for the future.
Cranbourne Gardens Ward Councillor, Cr Michelle Crowther attended along with Tooradin Ward Councillor, Cr Jennifer Dizon. Both Councillors said there was a fantastic turnout of interested residents.
“Since being elected in October last year, I’ve received many questions from residents in my ward about Council’s Coastal Framework. It has been really helpful to bring together community and experts in this field who can help answer questions and hopefully reduce community concerns about the Framework,” said Cr Crowther.
Cr Jennifer Dizon said since being elected, she has learnt more about how the Coastal Framework was developed, and what it looks to address.
“I’ve been part of several discussions and briefings with Council Officers about the Framework. I have learnt that this framework references the best available coastal hazard studies and data,” said Cr Dizon.
“I have had a number of Tooradin residents say to me that they’ve lived in the area for many years and during that time they have not seen the tides rise to the extent expressed in the Framework,” said Cr Dizon.
“However, a big takeaway for me is that the Coastal Framework doesn’t just look at rising sea levels, but the impacts of increased significant storms which combined with high tides can temporarily flood areas not previously affected,” said Cr Dizon.
“As a community, we need to make sure we’re prepared for storms that cause flooding. How will we respond when storms bring more frequent and severe flooding in our coastal areas? How can we ensure the infrastructure is sturdy enough? Is our community equipped to be resilient? That's what this framework considers and plans fo,” said Cr Dizon.
The City of Casey has been pro-active and an early adopter at taking up opportunities to consider the challenges our coastal communities will face. The Casey Coastal Framework looks at future impacts from both directions – increased rainfall from storms and rising sea levels.
The Framework references modelling featured in the Western Port Local Coastal Hazard Assessment (Water Technology, 2014) and its updates (Water4Good, 2021). This data is the most sophisticated and fit-for-purpose studies available. It has been publicly available for almost 10 years and is widely used for assessing coastal hazards.
Ultimately the main aim is to make our communities more resilient in the long-term. Most of this data has been publicly available for almost 10 years and is widely used for assessing coastal hazards. The modelling methods and data used in the project align with industry standards.