“Buyer beware”: Warrnambool council floats sale of flood-prone houses

Warrnambool City Council has voted unanimously to go to community consultation on the sale of three flood-prone houses on Koroit Street, even though the area’s known for being one of the city’s wettest spots.

🏡Why are they selling? These council-owned homes have sat mostly empty for years since they were purchased by the council about 30 years ago, and the council says selling them could bring in some cash and cut down on maintenance costs.

But Councillor Richard Ziegler says buyers should beware. 

“The three properties have been presenting problems for many, many years because of the flood risks and the flood problems pretty much every year when there’s heavy rain,” he told the Brolga.

“I remember the situation when council bought the properties because they felt there was no way to do engineering that would prevent the properties from being inundated as frequently as they are.”

🌧️ No guarantee for future floods: A report conducted by the council says while drainage works have “reduced the historical flood risk, uncertainty remains until the system is fully tested in a major event”.

The report also says “the properties face insurance limitations due to past flood claims.”

📈 According to a report by South West Climate Change, although there will be reductions in total average annual rainfall by 3 percent by 2030, single 50mm rainfall events will increase by 3 percent, which could lead to localised flooding. In October 2020, Warrnambool and surrounds were flooded after exceeding the monthly rainfall average in five days, with the area receiving 107mm. The State Emergency Service responded to 160 requests for help during that period, with more than half of those calls being flood-related.

Woodford Primary School, north of Warrnambool, had to close after its oval and playground were flooded. 

🌊 Double the risk: Victoria’s 2024 Climate Science Report notes the behaviour of the state’s flood events have been changing, with large floods increasing in magnitude by about 3 percent each decade. Smaller floods have decreased by up to 13 percent per decade over the past 70 years.

This trend is expected to accelerate if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, potentially doubling Victoria’s flood risk by the end of the century.

🙇‍♂️ Haven’t we been here before? Earlier this year, the council rejected a flood study for South Warrnambool – and then approved planning permits in the area. These decisions have kept the city’s flood management policies in the spotlight.

The study was organised, funded and commissioned by the state government through Emergency Management Victoria, and found high flood risks within the Warrnambool City Council.

📰 Making headlines: The council’s decision to reject the flood study made headlines, with the study’s principal environmental engineer and lead investigator Michael South telling the ABC the findings placed the area on the “upper end” of flood risk.

South said that after working on about 20 flood studies, using “consistent methodologies”, the push-back from Warrnambool councillors was “a first”. 

“This is the highest resistance I've experienced,” he said.

Councillors also voiced their disapproval of potential decreases in property values and increased insurance premiums if the recommendations were approved.

Councillor Vicki Jellie questioned “how can anyone have the insight” to “make a decision now for the next 75 years” in response to the investigation.

💵 Buyer beware: Councilor Ziegler said potential purchasers of the three Warrnambool properties built in flood risk areas need to know the risks. 

“There is an ethical issue from the point of view that, well, council is offloading because they're problematic for them, the council, and a buyer will have the same problems in future.”

Japan Street, which is just nearby, flooded last January, and it’s one of several areas across Warrnambool that have faced flooding in recent years.

Ziegler said there’s no parallel between the sale of these properties on Koroit Street and the approval of a new house in South Warrnambool’s Oceanex estate – other than the subject of “excess water” – and that the council’s decision to potentially sell will bring in some money.

“I think that having voted for the sale of this property, I acknowledge the fact that we could make some money out of it. But again, whoever buys it will have to be very aware of what they're buying.”

🏡 What’s next? The homes will now go through a four-week public consultation before any sale happens, and Ziegler says he’ll be paying close attention to what the community has to say.

“I really welcome any kind of community feedback. It’s all very valuable, and it’s all heeded by most of the councillors.”