Swamped but many refuse to sell

RESIDENTS holding out for more money are delaying mitigation works to a substantial area of flood prone land in Moorebank.

Of the 175 properties included in the original Moorebank Voluntary Acquisition Scheme, 61 remain privately owned.

By holding off, these properties are likely to blowout original cost estimates for the scheme.

Flood studies carried out in the early 1980s identified the Moorebank area along the Georges River as one of the worst floodways in the state.

Following a review of flood mitigation options, new development ceased and the buyback scheme was created as a solution.

The 2004 Bewsher Consulting report into the Georges River Floodplain Management plan, estimated the final cost of acquisitions to be $30 million.

But Liverpool Council general manager Farooq Portelli said the properties had greatly increased in value during the past eight years.

"The scheme is voluntary and over the past two years council's offers to purchase properties within the scheme continue to be declined by landowners," he said.

"All funding for the acquisition has been provided by the state and federal governments, as well as council's own funding sources.

"The $30 million refers to the estimated cost at that time to acquire the remaining properties.

"Due to increases in property values, the current estimates to acquire the remaining 61 properties are far greater."

Mr Portelli said council, together with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, made annual budget provisions for the purchase of at least one property a year.

"Due to the voluntary nature of the scheme council is unable to provide a completion date for the acquisition scheme," he said.

Flood levels reached 10.6 metres during the 1973 Liverpool floods. More than 150 years of documented flood reports found that Moorebank was always the hardest hit by flooding.