Flooding and stormwater
Flooding and stormwater can be a risk to property and life.
Flooding occurs when water flows over land that is normally dry. This can occur after heavy or prolonged rainfall. This type of flood water is fresh and usually full of sediment and other pollutants. Flooding can also occur from storm tides, often caused by tropical cyclones or east coast lows. This type of flood water is mostly marine and salty.
Stormwater is runoff from rainfall that flows overland. It causes short-term flooding across roads, parks and sports grounds. Stormwater travels through our urban stormwater network of underground pipes and open drains. It is sometimes stored in basins and later released to rivers or creeks.
We need to manage stormwater to protect the health of our community and our waterways. It's often polluted with litter, oils, chemicals, heavy metals and sediment. As a result, we capture and treat stormwater runoff before its released or reused.
We remove stormwater litter using gross pollutant traps. Then, we can treat it using natural processes, such as wetlands and bio-retention basins.
Flood risk is managed for community wellbeing, facilitated by an integrated stormwater network that contributes to waterway health.
Policy PositionsRead about council's flooding and stormwater policy positions.
We manage disaster management and community education events, and work with the Queensland Government on flood risks. We also manage the stormwater network to control the runoff released across the region.
- Waterways and wetlands Waterways and wetlands are our rivers, canals, lakes and water bodies. View more
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