Flood monitoring equipment improving community resilience
02 March 2023
New, tougher gauges and live images from a network of cameras are operating across Ipswich to improve community resilience after two flood events significantly impacted the city in 2022.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the city has a robust and reliable data capture system after gauges damaged by the February 2022 flood were replaced along with flood cameras installed at key Ipswich locations.
“Over several weeks in late 2022, contractors constructed towering masts and installed temporary cameras at almost a dozen sites near significant Ipswich waterway crossings,” Mayor Harding said.
“Eleven cameras are now operational and their live feeds, which are updated every 15 minutes, can be accessed for free online through council’s Disaster Dashboard.
“Ipswich is no stranger to natural disasters, and council is aware the city has a high flood risk and that severe flooding will occur again and affect many communities across the city.
“By checking the Disaster Dashboard, combined with near real-time data provided by flood gauges, residents can make decisions about their travel and not place themselves in risky situations where water may be about to or is already blocking road access.”
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairperson and Division 4 Councillor Russell Milligan said council is focused on ensuring the region is better prepared for future natural disasters.
“In addition to flood recovery, council will plan to spend almost $3 million on flood preparedness and waterway recovery, flood mitigation and drainage across Ipswich,” Cr Milligan said.
“New temporary solar-powered flood cameras were installed late last year at Colleges Crossing and Junction Road in Karalee as part of Ipswich’s new robust and reliable flood camera system.
“They are convenient and potentially lifesaving as residents can instantly access these cameras online to view key waterways and if local roads are about to be cut by rising flood waters.”
Division 4 Councillor Kate Kunzelmann said new and more resilient flood gauges were installed in September 2022 at two of the city’s hardest hit areas, Colleges Crossing and Karalee.
“Junction Road in Karalee and Colleges Crossing Recreation Reserve were completely inundated with floodwaters, resulting in failure of monitoring hardware in those flood gauges,” Cr Kunzelmann said.
“The new gauges have been designed to be more resilient to water damage, and they will help council supply accurate information to residents and authorities as part of a more robust system.”
The State Government’s Queensland Reconstruction Authority approved funding of more than $49,000 each for the flood gauge at Colleges Crossing and at Karalee.
Assistance was provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
For more information about Ipswich’s flood recovery check the interactive Flood Recovery Projects map online, or visit Ipswich.qld.gov.au/services/flood-recovery