Today we spoke to Greg Andrews, an Environmental Health professional based in Victoria’s west.

Local Government faces many challenges as it plans to adapt to climate change. One of these challenges is the likely impact of rising sea levels on small unsewered coastal towns.

In Victoria, there are many such towns that are arguably a public health risk now and if predicted sea level rises occur, certainly would become unviable in the future. The towns of greatest concern have predictable characteristics. They are low lying, their sandy soils are good for disposing of wastewater but not for treating it, their watertables are often close to the surface, and because they are isolated they tend to be prohibitively expensive to sewer. In the face of these environmental and public health concerns, no community wants their town to be unfairly labelled. Property owners have invested in homes and values continue to rise, some have a desire to build large homes, and most just want to enjoy their properties without being disturbed.

So, how does local government, as the Authority responsible for both Community Health and Strategic Planning negotiate this difficult path?