New Code for Building Over Public Water Infrastructure
Date: 29-Jun-2017
The Department of Local Government via Building Codes Queensland is seeking feedback on a proposal to make a mandatory Part of the Queensland Development Code called ‘MP1.4 - Build Over or near Sewers, Stormwater Drains and Water Mains’. The Department released a new draft Code following initial consultation with stakeholders in October 2011 (see e Flash #135 – September 2011). Many of the concerns raised by Water Service Providers (WSPs) in that first round of consultation were not addressed in the updated Draft released in early July (see eFlash #172 - 11 July 2012), highlighting the need for a renewed industry response.
The proposed Code applies to work on all classes of buildings over or adjacent to water, sewage or stormwater infrastructure and makes a specific class of applications assessable by building certifiers.
For all other applications, Council WSPs would be a concurrence agency and able to condition or refuse an application. The proposed Code would also mean that appeals on decisions by Certifiers or concurrence agencies would be made directly to the BDDRC. The Department has indicated that this Committee has 103 general referees with expertise in the areas of building, plumbing, planning, architecture, law and engineering including five RPEQs.
The principal industry concern with the proposed Code is that it decreases the ability of WSPs to manage their own infrastructure and increases costs and risks to Queensland communities. The Code as drafted does not allow WSPs to mitigate these risks and costs in the diverse range of situations encountered across the State. A secondary concern is that the proposed Code addresses building concerns only from a development perspective overlooking the needs of pubic assets. This could result in extreme costs to communities and potential safety issues that outweigh the benefits and savings to developers.
Notwithstanding the above issues and other technical concerns, there is strong support from WSPs across the state for improving consistency and reducing red-tape and unnecessary costs in urban development. qldwater has formed an industry expert panel for this issue and is working with the Department with the aim of developing consistent standards while avoiding the risks inherent in the proposed Draft Code.
This panel has developed a discussion paper available on our website http://www.qldwater.com.au/ReviewDocuments, and invites the broader industry to provide comment either directly to Building Codes Queensland or back to qldwater. The draft Code can be downloaded from the Department’s website along with explanatory notes. The consultation period is open until Tuesday 21 August and any input to the collated industry response being developed by qldwater is welcomed up to Friday 17 August (to hgold@qldwater.com.au ). Feedback directly to Building Codes Queensland (BCQ) via email to should be sent to buildingcodes@dlgp.qld.gov.au with 'Attention: Draft QDC ' in the subject line.
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