The St George Illawarra Dragons will have to overcome flood risks if their proposed high performance centre at Innovation Campus is approved.
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The team has lodged a development application for the centre with Wollongong City Council.
At the same time, the University of Wollongong has lodged a separate application for the relocation of heritage-listed migrant hostel huts that sit on the site of the proposed Dragons facility.
The application for the huts' relocation states the risk of flooding if they are left in situ.
"The location of the existing huts is currently subject to flooding in the 1 per cent average exceedance probability (AEP) event, with flooding expected to become more frequent and intense as a result of climate change and sea level rise," the application for relocation stated.
That means, if the Dragons centre is to go ahead, flood mitigation measures will need to be put in place to ensure the facility and fields are not underwater at some stage.
Images included in a flood study lodged as part of the application show a risk of some sections of the sports fields being underwater in a flood event.
"During major flood events such as the 1 per cent (AEP), much of the site is subject to inundation with flows from Cabbage Tree Creek flowing directly through the site towards Puckeys Estate and Towradgi," the documents stated.
Part of the mitigation measures to combat that include designing the fields with a slight slope to allow water to run off the surface rather than pool.
"The finished surface of both western and eastern sports fields was graded in an easterly direction, providing a flood-free eastern sports field in the 5 per cent flood event," the statement of environmental effects said.
"The system includes flooding of the western sports field in the 5 per cent flood event with flows draining northeast before being conveyed by two 375-millimetre diameter pipes north of the eastern sports field."
The development will also include a sloped embankment - known as a bund - at the northern end of the site.
"A bund was included in the concept design to protect properties at the northern boundary from adverse flood effects as a result of the proposed design," the flood study stated.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
