The Queensland Government has announced it is now considering an independent review of Seqwater’s report into the January 2011 floods.

 

State Energy and Water Supply Minister, Mark McArdle, said the Government would consider the report’s recommendations on dam safety and flood mitigation ahead of the coming wet season.

 

“The Government will, as a matter of urgency, assess its recommendations and analysis so we can learn from, then improve, our approaches to future flood mitigation,” Mr McArdle said.

 

“This important review of Seqwater’s report and objective flood data will be a key consideration in the long term review of the flood mitigation manual for Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.

 

Engineers from the Department of Energy and Water Supply (DEWS) will assess the review and work with Seqwater to identify issues that should be addressed for this coming wet season.

 

Mr McArdle said his department received the review from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) earlier this week.

 

“The Bureau of Reclamation provided dam safety expertise, while the Corps of Engineers provided expertise into flood operations,” he said.

 

The independent review report is publicly available on the DEWS website – http://www.dews.qld.gov.au/flood-inquiry-response