Dr Margaret Greenway, North Ocean Shores
Residents of South Golden Beach, west of Beach Avenue, should be aware that their houses have been built in a Melaleuca wetland, so it is not surprising that the area floods during extreme rainfall events.
Melaleuca wetlands are important coastal ecosystems, with high ecological and hydrological values. Hydrologically they store and filter runoff water. Their soils are usually peaty, thus they function as a sponge. During major rainfall events the sponge becomes saturated and water begins to pond on the surface; this causes flooding.
In 1981 my husband and I were offered one block of land for $5,000 or two blocks for $9,000 in Gloria Street. We did our homework and some research. The trees – melaleuca and swamp she-oak – told us the area was a wetland, as did the very shallow water table. We consulted a construction engineer who informed us we would need ‘an awful lot of fill’ to build in that area. The house would need to be elevated as flooding would still occur.
We also consulted The Byron Bay-Hastings Point Erosion Study (NSW Dept Public Works, 978), which identified beach erosion and potential ocean overtopping of the foredunes owing to storm surge in the event of major storms during cyclones (www.ses.nsw.gov.au/flood-awareness-nsw/northern-rivers/byron-lga).
With the threat of landward flooding in the wetland and saltwater inundation from the ocean, we decided NOT to purchase the land in Gloria Street. Instead we purchased land on the hill in North Ocean Shores.
South Golden Beach is enclosed by a levee that is designed to protect it to a height of 4.2m. However, localised heavy rainfall can cause water to pond behind the levee. The low-lying areas of New Brighton can be affected by floodwater in moderate to major flood events. South Golden Beach and New Brighton will flood again. That’s a fact!
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
