Read this and despair as the Mayor tells it how HE thinks that it is. It is a worry if you imagine that there might be a future.
GO TO https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-05/this-is-what-climate-change-looks-like-in-tasmania/11176182
Tasmanian councils grapple with effects and price tag of climate change
Posted
Tasmanian councils are grappling with the impacts of climate change, from uninsurable houses, makeshift erosion infrastructure and metres of lost land.
The effects of more frequent extreme weather events and sea level rises are being felt across the state, burdening local governments with greater responsibilities and costs.
Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter said there were now houses in Blackmans Bay, 16 kilometres south of Hobart, that were no longer insurable.
One resident there has been told by her insurance company that the flood risk was now so great that her house couldn't be insured for flood damage, despite meeting all approvals.
"This lady was going overseas for eight weeks and is now without insurance for flood at all," Mr Winter told Leon Compton on ABC Radio Hobart.
"That's an example where those sort of things are impacting on homeowners right now."
The Kingborough region was hit with two floods last year; one was a one-in-100-year flood, another a one-in-10-year flood.
"That's the time we realised we need to improve our stormwater system and actually plan with a system based on a one-in-fifty-year flood," Mr Winter said.
"It costs a huge amount of money, and we've just passed our budget and it's extremely tight to try and find enough money to invest in stormwater infrastructure."
Land lost, house values down
The coastal towns of Snug and Conningham in Tasmania's south have been dealing with erosion problems for several years.
Community groups have led the way with remedial works, such as sand bagging and positioning large rocks to protect the foreshore.
The Bruny Island Boat Club has lost metres of land in front of its shed, and members have undertaken emergency works to protect it from further land slip.
"We're seeing metres of shoreline lost over time," Mr Winter said.
He said land owners in his council area were conducting unapproved erosion prevention works to protect their foreshore, creating new problems for the council.
"They're erecting makeshift, not well-engineered structures to save their own shoreline — do we get involved? It's a really complicated area."
In certain parts of the region, houses were becoming more expensive to build and owners were also losing value on properties, he added.
Fire and flood in the Huon Valley
The regional community of Huonville was this year hit with an emergency-level bushfire, which put the town and surrounding areas at risk for 15 days.
Last year, the area experienced flooding.
Mayor Bec Enders said the council had been discussing and planning for increased extreme weather events — it is already preparing for the next fire season.
The town's sporting centre was turned into an emergency evacuation centre during January's fire.
"On council alone, one-third of our workforce was allocated to looking after our community with traffic management and running the emergency centre," Ms Enders said.
"You can't sustain those numbers for anything longer than that.
PHOTO: Bushfire threatened houses in the Huonville area earlier this year. (ABC News: Ellen Coulter)
The region has also undertaken flood studies for four rivers, with the Huon River running right through Huonville.
Ms Enders said the only viable option was a 1.5-kilometre levee bank.
"But there was no guarantee we would not still be flooded, because we have a lot of overland water that would have nowhere to escape," she said.
"It is an incredibly expensive thing to do when you have such a small population.
"You don't have the rate base to even make a dent in it."
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