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Water Management and Hazards

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Water Management and Hazards

You are part of a community planning team for fictional Wattle Creek, in inland New South Wales. Use the evidence on this page to make practical decisions about water supply and flood risk. Give reasons where asked.

Wattle Creek: water for a changing climate

Wattle Creek gets most of its town water from a river catchment. Rain flows from hills into the river and a storage dam. Water is treated to make it safe, then sent through pipes to homes and farms. During dry periods, the town may need to reduce use. Heavy rain can also make the river rise quickly.

1.Using the water-supply description above, put these stages in the order water travels from rainfall to a household: treatment, catchment, pipes, storage dam.

2.A storm washes soil from a cleared hillside into the river above the dam. Which part of the water system is most directly affected first, and why?

3.The dam is low after a long dry spell. Which action is the most useful immediate way for households to reduce demand?

Fix leaking taps and take shorter showers
Leave garden sprinklers running overnight
Wash cars more often
Use drinking water to wash driveways

Reading the rainfall evidence

Rainfall recorded at Wattle Creek weather station

Day 1 — 8 mm

Day 2 — 12 mm

Day 3 — 38 mm

Day 4 — 67 mm

Day 5 — 42 mm

Day 6 — 5 mm

4.Describe the rainfall pattern across the six days. Include the wettest day and how rainfall changed after it.

5.After heavy rain, the river rises rapidly and water flows over its banks. Name the hazard and give one reason the rainfall evidence suggests it could occur.

6.Complete the statement using evidence: “Wattle Creek is at increased risk of because .”

Planning for people and Country

A flood can damage homes, roads, farms and ecosystems. Good planning combines warnings and emergency action with long-term decisions about where and how people build. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have diverse, enduring knowledge and responsibilities for caring for Country, including waterways. Planning should respect local community knowledge and involve Traditional Owners.

7.Match each action with its timescale: flood-warning text messages; avoiding new housing on a floodplain; moving people to higher ground during a flood.

Flood-warning text messages
Avoiding new housing on a floodplain
Moving people to higher ground during a flood

Long-term planning
Emergency response
Short-term preparation

8.Suggest one way a planning team could include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge and responsibilities for Country when managing a local waterway. Explain why respectful involvement matters.

9.The council has funding for one major long-term action near a river that floods. Which option most directly reduces people’s exposure to floodwater?