Redland Bay – Natural Hazards and Critical Infrastructure

Redland Bay – Natural Hazards and Critical Infrastructure

Natural Hazards

To view Natural Hazard mapping layers for bushfire, flood and storm tides, or landslides visit the Redlands Coast Disaster Dashboard.

Bushfire

Large areas of Redland Bay, particularly in the south and west of the suburb are identified as being a high to very high bushfire hazard. The majority of this area is either rural or bushland, characterised with high levels of vegetation and with limited access routes, reducing the ability to implement mitigation strategies. Future urban development is planned for this area which lies south of Serpentine Creek Road and will see the rural areas become residential developments. This will result in a large number of residential properties being created closer to these high to very high bushfire hazard areas.

Along with threatening homes, the Redland Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant (located on German Church Road) is surrounded by very high and high bushfire hazard; if this plant was to be impacted by bushfire it could significantly impact Mount Cotton, as the sewered areas of Mount Cotton are serviced by this plant. In addition to this Redland Bay is home to substantial industry in the form of a large quarrying operation, numerous farms and businesses, Redland Bay Waste and Recycling Centre, and the industrial area at Redland Bay Business Park, all of which could be impacted by bushfire.

Redland Bay is continually growing and pockets of urban development are edging closer to bushfire hazard areas, the location of the housing lends itself to the risk of ember attack from the surrounding areas. During a wildfire, embers can travel up to 3km in front of a fire line which means residents need to be vigilant and be prepared. For more information about bushfire preparedness and what to do during a bushfire, visit the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services website to create your Bushfire Survival Plan.

Redland City Council employs a range of fire mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of bushfire on Council owned land and impact to surrounding areas. These strategies include hazard reduction burning (back burns), fire breaks and weed management. Redland City Council works with its Local Disaster Management Group partners to undertake fire mitigation activities around the city.

Flood Prone, Storm Tide

The Redland Bay area has potential to experience flooding as a consequence of either tidal inundation or flash flooding resulting from heavy rainfall events. Redland Bay has an extensive network of waterways running through it, the largest of these being Weinam Creek which flows into Moreton Bay at the site of the Weinam Creek Marina. Current mapping indicates that Weinam Creek is impacted by both tidal inundation and flash flooding resulting from heavy rainfall events.

There are a number of waterways that run through the residential areas of Redland Bay. Redland Bay has seen a significant level of residential development, which is encroaching upon these creek systems which generally flow through bushland reserves around the urban development. What is concerning about these residential developments is that they utilise single road access – one road in, one road out. Previous history shows that when School of Arts Road and Serpentine Creek Roads are cut by flash flooding; the entire Torquay Shores community becomes isolated. Redland City Council has undertaken significant culvert upgrades along School of Arts Road to mitigate against the affects of flash flooding and provide vehicular access to the area.

Current mapping indicates that low lying areas of Redland Bay may experience tidal inundation as a result of a storm tide event. Areas of greatest impact appear to be the Redland Bay Golf Club, the Weinam Creek Marina precinct including Banana Street and the Esplanade, Junee Street near Sandy Cove, and heading to the southern end of Redland Bay – properties along Pear Street, Zipfs Road and Rocky Passage Road. At the southern end of Redland Bay, Native Dog Creek flows inland from the Logan River through heavily wooded bushland. Native Dog Creek is impacted by tidal inundation with the potential to cause flash flooding across Serpentine Creek Road, cutting the main road network to Logan City from the southern end of Redland City.

Eprapah Creek is made up of a main channel and two smaller tributary channels – Little Eprapah and Sandy Creeks. The creek starts at the Mount Cotton hills west of Mount Cotton Road, flows through cleared rural blocks and east towards the lower, urbanised reaches of Victoria Point. Eprapah Creek catchment covers the western edges of Victoria Point and Redland Bay and the majority of Mount Cotton. West Mount Cotton Road forms part of the western catchment boundary.

Moogarrapum Creek rises in the Days Road Conservation Area and smaller tributaries drain rural land either side of German Church and Giles Road. The main channel flows through urban Redland Bay, into Victoria Point and flows out to Moreton Bay.  Moogurrapum Creek is dominated by rural non-urban and commercial land use to the west of the Cleveland Redland Bay Road. It also has closed and capped landfill sites, with one now being used as a waste transfer station. 

Native Dog Creek and tributaries flows off the eastern side of Mount Cotton, through Mount Cotton Village and lakes, then south into the lower reaches of Logan River. Only one third of the catchment area (upper catchment) is within Redland City boundary. The remaining two thirds is in Logan City. The catchment is bounded by Logan River to the south and Eprapah Creek catchment to the north.

Serpentine Creek rises in the Days Road Conservation Area and flows south into the lower reach of Logan River. The Creek is bound by Moogurrapum catchment to the north, Southern Redland Bay catchment to the east and Native Dog catchment to the west. Two thirds of the catchment is National Park or Reserve land. Key natural features on public land include Days Road, Kidd Street and Serpentine Creek Conservation Areas along with Bay View Conservation Park.

Southern Redland Bay catchment is a narrow strip of coastal land with several short waterways that flow into southern Moreton Bay. Two named creeks, Weinam and Torquay Creeks drain the northern end of the catchment and many unnamed creeks flow short distances west to east and out to Moreton Bay.

Landslide

Current mapping recognises that Redland Bay has low to high landslide hazard predominantly in the west and south of the suburb as well as along the coastal fringes. The western and southern areas of Redland Bay are typically rural areas with sparse residential development, limiting the potential impacts of landslide. The coastal fringes however have high levels of residential development often where homes have been built atop cliffs that overlook Moreton Bay.

Residential development in these areas needs to comply with the requirements of the Redland City Plan which, through the Landslide Hazard Overlay attempts to mitigate the impacts of the landslide hazard by requiring more robust engineering for developments built within the identified landslide hazard areas. It is important for engineers and geologists to evaluate slope stability and any landslide threat during development assessments so that effective and timely remedial measures can be implemented.

Plants and tree roots help to prevent landslides occurring by absorbing water and holding the ground together. After bushfires, heavy rain combined with a loss of plants and roots can make the ground soft and heavy, leading to a greater chance of landslides. Landsides can carry debris such as rocks and trees downhill and cause serious damage to anything in their path. The risk of a landslide occurring in a burnt area depends on the volume of rainfall, how steep the land is, the amount of remaining vegetation to support the land, the soil composition and the structure of rocks below the surface. QFES assess landslide prone areas after a significant bushfire to determine if there is a landslide hazard risk.

Critical Infrastructure

Critical infrastructure at the time of a disaster event includes utilities such as power, water, sewerage, telecommunications, gas and road and rail networks. Impacts of a disaster on these services may have far-reaching long-term effects for mainland communities.

Sewage

Redland Bay has a mix of sewered and non-sewered areas. The residential areas, located in the north-east of the suburb, are connected to the city’s sewer network. Effluent from these areas is directed to the Victoria Point Wastewater Treatment Plant located off Link Road. Hazard mapping indicates that the treatment plant is adjacent to bushland identified as being moderate bushfire hazard and may be impacted by tidal inundation during a severe storm tide event.

The acreage properties, along with all those properties south of the intersection between Serpentine Creek Road and Cleveland Redland Bay Road, are not connected to the city’s sewer network. These properties rely on a mix of gravity-fed septic systems and on-site sewerage treatment plants located on the properties to manage the wastewater. The on-site sewerage treatment plants require electricity to function, therefore it is recommended that these systems have a back-up generator to cope with extended periods of power outages which can occur during severe weather events. Many of the RCC sewage pumping stations have fixed generators onsite to provide backup power in the event of a power failure. Those that do not have fixed generators have the facilities to plug in a portable generator; several are available that can be taken to any site that requires it.

Water

Redland Bay receives its water supply from the Heinemann Road Reservoir, located at Mount Cotton. This reservoir services the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, Redland Bay, Victoria Point and Thornlands and is connected to the Mount Cotton Reservoir at Tallow Wood Court, which services Mount Cotton and Sheldon. The Mount Cotton Reservoir in turn is connected to the Alexandra Hills Reservoir located at Alexandra Circuit, making possible the supply of water to Redland City’s northern suburbs, should there be issues with Leslie Harrison Dam, which traditionally services the north of the city.

The Heinemann Road Reservoir is also connected to the Herring Lagoon bore field on North Stradbroke Island and the SEQ Water Grid via a pump station on Gramzow Road in Mount Cotton. The connection to the grid allows water to be pumped to and from the city via the Heinemann Road Reservoir. This network of reservoirs, pump stations and pipelines ensures that water can be moved around the network so that multiple water supplies are available to residents living in all areas Redland City.

Electricity

Redland Bay is serviced by a mix of both overhead and underground powerline networks. Redland Bay has experienced large growth in urban development in recent years and as such, the majority of residential areas are serviced by the underground powerline network. However, there are pockets in the north around the village centre and in the south, particularly in the rural areas that are still serviced by overhead powerlines.

The overhead powerlines are more susceptible to damage during severe weather which can result in power outages and fallen powerlines. Fallen powerlines can cause significant dangers to the community, so be aware that any object in contact with powerlines could be live. The area surrounding fallen powerlines is more dangerous in wet conditions as sea and tap water are an excellent conductor of electricity.

Energex offer a notification service for Emergency and Planned outages, and other alerts such as upcoming meter read if dogs are onsite or for certain customer service work requests. Click here to go to the Energex Notifications page to Register for this notification service.

Remember: any metallic objects, including fences, will be electrified if they touch or are even close to a live fallen powerline. Even a tree branch can be a potential conductor of electricity if it is in contact with a live wire. Stay away from fallen powerlines and alert others of the danger – contact 000 or Energex 13 19 62.

Gas

There is no domestic reticulated gas service within Redland City and no gas main that runs through the suburb of Redland Bay. There are however homes within the area that use gas bottles to service hot water systems and cooking appliances. Residents are reminded to be diligent with the appropriate storage and maintenance of any gas bottles that they have located on their property.

Telecommunications

Redland Bay is connected via landlines to the telecommunications and data networks. There is generally good mobile network coverage in Redland Bay, due to the terrain and remoteness of the far southern end of Redland Bay, there may be mobile reception black spots in the area. Telstra is the major supplier of telecommunications to the region; other suppliers include Optus and Vodafone.

Connection to the National Broadband Network (NBN) is now available across the majority of Australia, with various connection types for both wired (copper, fibre optic, and hybrid fibre-coaxial) and radio (satellite and fixed wireless). It is important to know the type of connection you have; fibre to the building (FTTB), fibre to the curb (FTTC), fibre to the node (FTTN), fibre to the premises (FTTP), or hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), there is also satellite or fixed wireless. The majority of connections are FTTN and FTTP, closely followed by HFC.

It is important to note that any equipment connected via the NBN will not work during a power outage, including VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones. For more information about what happens in a power blackout for the type of connection at your residence, please go to https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/what-happens-in-a-power-blackout. Certain connection types can request battery back-up solutions through their internet service provider; battery back-up is required for all Priority Assistance customers who suffer from a diagnosed life-threatening illness.

If you have a medical alarm, emergency call button, autodialler, security alarm, monitored fire alarm or lift emergency phones at your premises, please contact your equipment provider to confirm whether your equipment will work via the network in the event of a power outage. Further information is also available on the NBN website and how to register these devices; this assists the NBN in identifying premises where support maybe be required to minimise service outages https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/device-compatibility.

Harbours and Marinas

The Weinam Creek Marina facility at Redland Bay is a critical piece of marine infrastructure for Redland City. The marina precinct is considered to be the gateway to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, with plans for the precinct to become an exciting and dynamic destination in its own right – as well as an effective transport hub and gateway to the islands. For further details please go to Council’s website.

The Weinam Creek marina precinct currently incorporates passenger ferry and barge services to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, short and long term marina berths, boat launching area and is home to emergency service infrastructure such as the Redland Bay Water Police barge, Redland Bay Coastguard Headquarters and the Redland Bay SES flood boat. Current flood prone, storm tide mapping indicates that the Weinam Creek marina precinct may be impacted by tidal inundation during an extreme storm tide event that could result in damage to essential infrastructure.

There are also a number of small boat moorings dotted along the Redland Bay coast line. These moorings and vessels are at risk of structural damage should a storm tide event impact the area.

Road Network

REMEMBER: If it’s flooded, forget it – BACK IT UP!

Summer months bring rain, cyclones and unstable weather conditions to Queensland. More than half of flood related deaths in Queensland are the result of people driving through floodwater. It can happen anywhere – roads, creeks, dams, parks or backyards. Residents should be aware of the dangers connected to floodwater or swift flowing water such as: slippery surfaces; uneven ground; strong currents; sharp objects; electrical current; fences; vehicles; rocks; long grass; tree branches; sewerage; and chemicals.

If you get trapped in floodwater, you not only put your life and the lives of the people with you at risk, but you also put the lives of the rescuers at risk too.

Localised flooding may temporarily restrict access and cut roads in some areas of Redland City. Please consider this when planning to drive during periods of heavy rain. See a list of the areas that may be impacted by localised flooding.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Plan ahead and keep yourself, family and friends safe. Check out the Floodwater Safety information available here https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/prepare/flooding

Rail Network

Currently there is no rail infrastructure in Redland Bay and there are no plans to extend to rail network to Redland Bay in the near future.

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