Sea-rise threat to Gladstone | Gladstone News | Local News in Gladstone

Ren Lanzon | 3rd December 2009

The continuous line under the Fishermen Co-op Wharf’s decking indicates the height above which the tide seldom rises. The dotted line indicates where the new level would be if the sea rose by a metre.

JEN TYBELL

THE bottom of the deck of the old Fishermen’s Co-op Wharf is about as high as the highest tide can be expected to go, but that is now.

According to the Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast, however, the wharf would be well and truly inundated and any buildings beyond it on the other side of Auckland Creek are likely to have water lapping up around them.

That is assuming that the Central Queensland University Campus and the Marina Buildings are still there in 90 years’ time when the tide is expected to have risen an estimated 1.1 metre.

Volunteer Marine Rescue stalwart Jim Purcell said the bottom of the decks at O’Connell Wharf (soon to be removed), the Harbour Marine Wharf and the Fishermen’s Co-op Wharf has been calculated as “the height above which the tide seldom goes”.

That does not mean that the tide has not gone higher on occasions. Nor does it mean that other factors such as cyclonic conditions or tidal surges cannot drive it higher.

“I imagine if there was a metre rise in the highest tide level, there would be a lot of places in Gladstone that would be affected by the water,” he said.

The climate change report goes further. The 1.1m prediction is an average of estimates that range from 79 centimetres to 120cm. It also says that extreme weather that now occurs every 10 years would recur every 10 days in 2100.

But it also says that these disasters won’t happen all of a sudden in 90 years’ time, but they will be increasing progressively between now and then.

Currently Gladstone City is regarded as being relatively safe from flooding caused by heavy rain because of its hilly nature.

But it does have some low-lying residential areas where floodwaters could invade the streets.

Both, the state and federal governments, have expressed concern about residential buildings being too close to areas that could suffer from rising sea levels and both appear to be considering addressing this matter in the future by prohibiting developments in such areas.

Already some councils, such as that of Byron Bay in New South Wales, have made it clear to residents in such areas they would not remediate beaches near the threatened properties.

Yesterday, Gladstone Regional Council’s assistant director of environmental management Charles Sotiris said the council relied on the governmental climate change documents.

“The council’s own flood studies has identified low-lying coastal areas or areas near waterways and it could be expected that these areas would be at an increased risk if global warming predictions are correct,” Mr Sotiris said.

He said such areas were parts of Barney Point, areas around Lord Street near the waterfront and to the lower end of Rossella Street, and the industrial areas developed on reclaimed mudflats such as those along Morgan and nearby streets.

He said areas that are subject to flooding now would be extended to cover neighbouring low grounds under a rising sea scenario.

There were also areas at Boyne Tannum that might be susceptible to increased flooding, particularly such areas as The Oaks Road.

Although the government is poised to act to discourage residential development in sea rise-prone areas, little attention appears to be paid to industrial sites in similar situations, although it could be expected that a large number of workers would spend a good deal of time in such areas.

Already some Gladstone residents are asking why industries in those areas have the support of governments while those same governments are expressing concerns about global warming and its effect on sea levels.

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