Published February 2025
Will the new high-rise projects slated for Breakfast Creek increase the risk of flooding?
The Brisbane City Council doesn’t appear to think so. New high-rise projects are being planned around there – but are they putting themselves as well as the wider Breakfast Creek Community at risk?
Breakfast Creek is a major outlet for the Enoggera Creek, which is sourced at Enoggera Reservoir. The reservoir drains the suburbs of The Gap and Ashgrove while Enoggera Creek separates the neighbourhood of St Johns Wood from the rest of Ashgrove, Alderley, Newmarket, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Wilston, Herston, Windsor, Bowen Hills. Ithaca Creek joins Enoggera Creek at the intersection of Ashgrove, Red Hill, and Newmarket. That’s a lot to drain.
Significant flooding occurred along the creek during the major floods, of 1893, 1974, 2011 and 2022 resulting in a number of houses being damaged as well as local businesses. This year the Brisbane City Council advised residents in the precinct to have emergency plans ready for evacuation during a flood.
These high-rise residential buildings with multiple basements have several potential impacts on flooding and the water table. Their increased impervious surfaces prevent natural filtration of rainwater into the soil and it is possible that overland flow paths may be disrupted, which may also increase the risk of localised flooding. It is critical that these buildings’ drainage systems are effective.
If that was not enough threat, basement carparks and other underground spaces may require pumping systems to prevent inundation during heavy rains or flooding and the rapid discharge of that pumped water into the stormwater system or the creek can add to the overall water volume, making things worse.
There are several DAs either in progress or decided in the Albion area including: 92 Kingsford Smith Drive; 2 Higgs St and the 30ish storey Breakfast Creek Quarter. These three buildings alone will increase – increase – the amount of apartments in the area by over 1000. Carparking for approximately 1000 cars comes with these buildings, completely transforming the precinct.
These buildings promise a high standard of lifestyle in their literature by making them appear self-sufficient, with the adjacent local environment largely ignored, probably because that immediate environment doesn’t have a lot to recommend it at the moment.
A number of interesting commercial and small-scale businesses have opened but the area lacks riverwalk charm, as it is constrained by the creek and its incipient flooding threat. I have mentioned before my experience of visiting San Antonio and seeing its beautiful riverwalk, leading me to believe Breakfast Creek could be transformed into our own riverwalk.
The San Antonio Riverwalk was created with Federal funding and is extremely successful – it receives 14 million visitors a year. It is a water diversion system (a flood tunnel) that was expensive to build at the time but has now repaid the investment many times over.
If a similar system is proposed for Breakfast Creek, its proximity to the Brisbane River would need to also consider tidal flooding and back-flow issues when considering diversion strategies: it too would be an expensive exercise. Nevertheless the benefits could be significant: a tourist drawcard for Brisbane that would complement Southbank.
I believe it would be worth conducting a flood risk and hydrology study to evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of such a diversion system.
The flood tunnel allowed San Antonio to preserve, enhance and energise a vibrant urban area while also adding recreational and ecological benefits to the Brisbane. Integrated with public spaces and ecological features it would unlock a presently underused part of the city creating incredible public spaces while improving property values.
But most importantly, it would also reduce the threat of flood risk to properties and infrastructure in the Breakfast Creek floodplain, providing an alternative pathway for stormwater and creek overflow during peak events.
The idea for this article was inspired by a design from Richard Groves for a San Antonio Riverwalk-inspired Olympic sporting precinct in Crosby Park from 2022 which has since been dismissed by the government. He proposed a new flood mitigation canal and levee bank from Breakfast Creek at Sandgate Rd, to flow out beside Cooksley St and under Kingsford Smith Drive to the river.
