Broadmeadow is a flat place. So if we build it up with high-density housing and intensive sports and entertainment facilities, what will we do with rainwater? Login or signup to continue reading Well, that's a big focus of state and council planning for the huge redevelopment zone that will stretch eastwards from Turton and Kings roads to the railway and beyond. What the state and council have come up with looks like a fine plan - assuming they've done their sums right and water will indeed flow fast enough to the sea rather than turn Broadmeadow into an occasional Venice-on-the-Pacific.

In summary, the planners propose that parts of the zone will be raised (filled) as redevelopment proceeds, while some will go lower, to hold rainwater temporarily. Along the way, water features will be landscaped, whereas at the moment we have only concrete drains. Massive redevelopment of Broadmeadow and flanking areas is supposed to go ahead over 30 years, beginning with residential buildings from the showground to the railway station.

Almost all of the redevelopment zone is subject to flooding, according to a study that was done for Newcastle council last year and allowed for a 0.4 metre rise in the sea level by 2050. Development will worsen the problem, because water slips off roofs, streets and car parks much faster than it leaves parks and yards.

Drainage channels are challenged in handling sharp surges in water flow. The plan, led by the NSW Planning Department, doesn't assume flooding.