Bridgewater flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Bridgewater
(Adelaide Hills Council, SA) - 6.94 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
6.94 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Bridgewater's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Bridgewater
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 8 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 7,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Bridgewater at a glance
How Bridgewater is zoned
Selling in Bridgewater? The zone and overlays on this page are the Planning and Design Code controls a Form 1 vendor's statement has to disclose.
Across its 6.94 km², Bridgewater is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 4% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 16 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Productive Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 1,023 m² across 1,714 parcels.
Who lives in Bridgewater
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Bridgewater suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1053, and decile 9 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Bridgewater's 3,719 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Aldgate - Stirling, the wider ABS statistical area containing Bridgewater. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Bridgewater itself.
17,972 in 2001 to 19,039 in 2025, up 6%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Bridgewater data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Bridgewater address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 8% of Bridgewater. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Bridgewater lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Bridgewater planning - frequently asked
Is Bridgewater flood-prone?
About 4% of Bridgewater falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 1%.
Is Bridgewater bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Bridgewater is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Adelaide Hills Council average of 100%.
Is Bridgewater under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 8% of Bridgewater, and over about 71% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 7,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 20 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Bridgewater?
The dominant planning zone in Bridgewater is Productive Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Rural Neighbourhood and Conservation.
Does Bridgewater have heritage-listed places?
Bridgewater has 16 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Bridgewater?
Across 1,714 surveyed parcels in Bridgewater, the median lot size is about 1,023 m².
Does Bridgewater have a train station?
There is no train station inside Bridgewater itself. The suburb is served by 12 bus stops.
What is the population of Bridgewater?
At the 2021 Census Bridgewater had 3,719 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.6 people. The wider Aldgate - Stirling statistical area, which contains Bridgewater, went from 17,972 people in 2001 to 19,039 in 2025, up 6%.
Is Bridgewater an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Bridgewater scores 1053 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Bridgewater?
Median household income in Bridgewater was $2,042 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,089 for the typical suburb in Adelaide Hills Council. Median rent was $400 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdun | 2.5 km | 11% | 100% |
| Mount George | 2.8 km | <1% | 100% |
| Aldgate | 3.0 km | 2% | 100% |
| Mylor | 3.5 km | 5% | 100% |
| Hahndorf Mount Barker District Council |
4.3 km | 3% | 100% |
| Stirling | 4.5 km | <1% | 100% |
| Heathfield | 4.7 km | 0% | 100% |
| Longwood | 4.9 km | 0% | 100% |
| Balhannah | 5.0 km | 3% | 100% |
| Piccadilly | 5.2 km | 0% | 100% |