An investment in new monitoring technology at Chinaman Creek Dam aims to provide the community with more reliable flood warning information.
A network of CCTV cameras, telemetry, and an early warning system have been installed by Cloncurry Shire Council, to build resilience to future flood events.
The $300,000 Telemetry, Monitoring and Early Warning System project was jointly funded by the Federal Government and Council through Round 1 of the Federal Government’s Disaster Ready Fund (DRF).
The project includes strategically located cameras on and near the dam to enhance Council’s year-round surveillance of the dam wall – including comparing seepage, determining the appropriate disaster activation level, and monitoring during activations.
Telemetry from a rain gauge and level sensors on the dam wall provides trend data about dam levels, rainfall, and trigger points.
Cameras and a siren are central to the early warning system, designed to provide sufficient warning to properties that would be impacted by a dam failure during extreme weather events.
It complements Council’s existing real-time flood warning infrastructure network assets, which allow Council to monitor 12 sites around the dam in real-time.
Queensland Minister for Disaster Recovery, Nikki Boyd, said that the dam is an important asset for the Cloncurry community, making this resilience upgrade to Council’s monitoring and early warning capability a potential lifesaver.
“During the most recent disaster season, 13 destructive weather events, from two tropical cyclones and severe flooding to bushfires, cut a swathe of damage through Queensland, and an estimated recovery bill of more than $2.1 billion,” Ms Boyd said.
“That’s why through the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, the Miles and Albanese Governments are doing what matters to back the recovery of Queenslanders, and support resilient councils to build back better.”
Cloncurry Shire Council Mayor, Greg Campbell, said that Council identified the Chinaman Creek Dam Telemetry, Monitoring and Early Warning System project as one part of a broader suite of projects to manage and mitigate risk associated with this important Council-owned asset.
“The upgrades to telemetry and monitoring at the dam allow for remote monitoring of the facility and generate great data sets for key parameters, both of which will improve our disaster preparedness and responsiveness,” Mr Campbell said.
“The Early Warning System will ensure we are able to provide timely advice to those downstream residents who would be impacted in the unlikely event of a dam failure.
“We thank NEMA and the QRA for their contribution toward this important project through the Disaster Ready Fund.”
Through the DRF, up to $200 million in funding is being made available per year over a five-year period, to reduce disaster risk and improve Australia’s resilience to natural disasters.
Other works previously funded at the Chinaman Creek Dam include a detailed risk review, material testing, and review of the structural competency of the Chinaman Creek Dam wall.
Senator for Queensland, Nita Green, said “I’m really pleased to see work completed on this important project which will help the region be better prepared for future severe weather events.
“We know that monitoring and early warning systems like this help save lives and provides crucial information for first responders and local disaster management authorities.
“With the Albanese Government’s support through the DFR, Cloncurry Shire Council has delivered a valuable project and I congratulate Mayor, Greg Campbell, and CEO, Philip Keirle, for this achievement, and their drive to make it happen.
“Building resilience and being better prepared are vital in reducing the impacts and costs of natural disasters, and it’s great to see this system will have an immediate benefit ahead of the 2024–25 higher risk weather season.”
For more information on the DRF, visit www.nema.gov.au/programs/disaster-ready-fund/round-one.
Featured image: Cameras on left abutment of Chinaman Creek Dam. Image Queensland Government.
