Seqwater has reiterated that the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry in no way concluded there was any negligence in its management of the January 2011 flood.
This follows a media announcement by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and litigation funder IMF Australia that they intend to lodge a class action in relation to the January event.
Seqwater has always taken the view that the operation of Wivenhoe Dam during the 2011 event and the release strategies adopted by its engineers significantly mitigated the flood. This position has not changed.
The independent expert retained by the Commission, concluded that, in light of the information available at the time and the requirements of the Wivenhoe manual, the flood engineers achieved close to the best possible flood mitigation result for the January event.
Furthermore, four other highly respected independent experts who appeared at the Commission supported Seqwater’s view that releases actually made by the flood engineers were appropriate and reasonable.
An independent review of Seqwater’s report into the January 2011 flood by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) also strongly supported the decisions made and actions undertaken by Seqwater.
It is also important not to lose sight of the significant magnitude and rarity of the January event which was effectively twice the size of the 1974 flood.
Seqwater notes no formal claim has been lodged against the organisation and remains confident that its position will be justified if the matter ever comes before a court.
