Councils in NSW have responsibility for identifying and managing flooding, and informing the community. Councils follow the NSW Flood Prone Land Policy, which outlines how we manage flooding to reduce the risk of flooding to people and properties.

It also sets consistent guidelines such as using the 1 in 100 year flood event as the industry standard for design and planning purposes. One of the most important steps in this process is increasing our community's awareness of flooding so that people are better able to understand and plan for the flood risks they face.

The study area comprises all areas that drain to Curl Curl Lagoon, including the suburbs of Curl Curl, North Curl Curl and parts of the suburbs of Brookvale, Narraweena and Freshwater.

The Greendale Creek Flood Study will identify flood behaviour in the catchment. 

If it is a life threatening situation call 000.

In the event of floods, storms or tsunamis, please contact the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500 or visit their website at ses.nsw.gov.au.

This is the same as the 1 in 100-year flood event, it is a major rain event that occurs on average once every 100 years, i.e. there is a 1% chance of a flood of this size occurring at a particular location in any given year. 

The Flood Planning Level (FPL) is the height used to set floor levels for houses in flood prone areas. It is defined as the 1 in 100 year flood level plus an appropriate freeboard (see explanation of ‘freeboard’ below).

It is used for planning purposes, and land below the FPL is considered flood affected and therefore subject to flood related development controls. 

The FPL can be calculated as: FPL = 1 in 100 year flood level + freeboard (typically 0.5m)

Councils prepare Flood Studies and Plans in accordance with the NSW Government’s Floodplain Development Manual (2005) and implement associated recommendations with the financial and technical assistance of NSW Government through the Flood Prone Land Policy.

Land use planning through development controls is one of the most effective means of managing flood risk in the catchment.

Council has implemented the Northern Beaches Flood Information Network which includes live rain gauges and lagoon water level gauges. These are used by government agencies during flood events and are publically available at: http://www.mhl.nsw.gov.au/users/NBFloodInfo

Council has also undertaken a range of targeted flood and coastal storm awareness programs for aged-care and childcare facilities.

The State Emergency Service has a useful website providing advice on how to manage flood risk. Visit www.floodsafe.com.au for more information.

Flood related development controls can be found in the Manly Local Environment Plan (Clause 6.3) and the Manly Development Control Plan (Clause 5.4.3), which can be viewed at https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/planning-and-development/building-and-renovations/planning-controls