Extract from QLD flood commission Peter Care Wide Bay Water Lenthalls Dam Gate Failure Transcript of...

7/27/2019 Extract from QLD flood commission Peter Care Wide Bay Water Lenthalls Dam Gate Failure Transcript of Proceeedi

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THE COMMI SSI ON RESUMED AT 10. 00 A. M.

COMMI SSI ONER: Yes, Ms Wi l son?

MS WI LSON: Thank you, Madam Commi ssi oner .

Today Queensl and Fl oods Commi ssi on of I nqui r y i s si t t i ng i nt he Fraser Coast Regi onal Counci l chamber here i n Maryborough.

Marybor ough i s bui l t around t he Mar y Ri ver and has exper i encedseven maj or and f our moderate f l ood peaks si nce f l ood r ecordsbegan i n 1864.

The f l oodi ng exper i enced i n Mar yborough dur i ng t he l ast wetseason di d not r each t he peaks of pr evi ous f l oods. However ,t he pace of t he Mar y Ri ver r i se i n J anuar y t hi s year wass i gni f i cant .

I n t hese hear i ngs, we wi l l hear t hat whi l st pr evi ous f l oodsmay have t aken t wo t o t hr ee days t o i nundate, t he J anuary 2011f l ood t ook si gni f i cant l y l ess t i me.

The r at e of t he r i ver r i se was a par t i cul ar i ssue t hat caughtpeopl e unawar e.

Dur i ng December of l ast year over 600 mi l l i met r es of r ai nf al lwas r ecorded over l arge par t s of t he Mar y Ri ver cat chment .

The Bureau of Met eor ol ogy i ssued f l ood war ni ngs f or t he Mar y

Ri ver i n mi d- December and agai n i n t he days bef ore Chr i st masbut i t was between Chr i st mas and New Year t hat si gni f i cantr ai nf al l caused l ocal i sed f l oodi ng i n t he Fr aser Coast r egi on.

Mar ybor ough' s Mar i na pr eci nct was one of t he f i r st ar eas t oexper i ence i nundat i on on Monday, t he 27t h of December .By Tuesday t he 28t h, coast al areas such as Toogoom and t hePaci f i c Haven wer e bei ng af f ect ed by rai nf al l r un of f andcreek r i ses coi nci di ng al so wi t h hi gh t i des.

Access i ssues began t o be exper i enced on a br oad scal e wi t hmany r oads and br i dges bei ng cl osed.

Dur i ng t he f i r st weeks of J anuar y, i t became appar ent t hat t her egi on' s wet summer was cont i nui ng.

The Bureau r ecor ded ver y heavy r ai nf al l i n t he Mar y Ri vercat chment dur i ng t he f i r st t wo weeks of J anuar y.

The Mar yborough Mar i na ar ea was agai n f l ooded f r om Fr i day t he7t h of J anuar y, and near mi dni ght on t hi s day, t he Bur eau ofMet eor ol ogy advi sed t hat dur i ng t he eveni ng f ast r i ver r i sesand moderate to maj or f l oodi ng was occur r i ng al ong t he MaryRi ver bet ween Gympi e and Ti ar o. Mi nor f l oodi ng overni ght andf ur t her heavy r ai nf al l was pr edi ct ed f or Mar ybor ough.


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I n r esponse, t he Fr aser Coast Regi onal Counci l began t o t aket he pr ecaut i onary measure of r emovi ng t he guar d r ai l s andel ect r i cal equi pment f r om t he Lami ngt on Br i dge.

However , t he r api d r i se of t he r i ver pr event ed t hi s wor k f r ombei ng compl et ed.

I n t he ear l y hour s of Fr i day the 8t h of J anuar y t he Counci lDi sast er Coor di nat i on Cent r e was bei ng est abl i shed i n t heMoret on St r eet Depot .

That mor ni ng, a deci si on was made t o cal l a Local Di st r i ctDi sast er Gr oup meet i ng and t he gr oup then cont i nued t o meetdai l y unt i l t he 14t h of J anuar y 2011.

The Local Di st r i ct Di sast er Gr oup i dent i f i ed Gr anvi l l e as anar ea of i mmedi at e concer n because of i sol at i on i ssues; al laccess r oads t o and f r om t he ar ea, i ncl udi ng Gr anvi l l e Br i dge,were cut .

The Local Di st r i ct Di sast er Gr oup mi nut es show t hat anemer gency hospi t al was est abl i shed at t he Gr anvi l l e HockeyCl ub t o del i ver heal t h ser vi ces t o i sol at ed r esi dent s.

On Satur day t he 8t h of J anuar y, and over t he cour se of t henext t hr ee days, 60 pat i ent s pr esent ed at t he cl i ni c and somehad t o be ai r l i f t ed by hel i copt er t o Her vey Bay.

The SES al so oper at ed a " f l ood boat " t hat conduct ed f r equentt r i ps acr oss t he Mar y Ri ver t o del i ver essent i al f ood andmedi cat i on and t o ser ve as a shut t l e ser vi ce f or t he st r andedr esi dent s of Gr anvi l l e.

Li ght s were goi ng out i n Maryborough t hat Satur day wi t h Er gondi sconnect i ng power t o appr oxi mat el y 21 pr oper t i es as apr ecaut i onary measure and di sconnect i ng hi gh- vol t agepower l i nes acr oss t he Mar y Ri ver .

At about mi dday on Sunday t he 9t h of J anuary 2011, t he Mar yRi ver peaked at 8. 2 met r es. The r i ver l evel r emai ned aboveei ght met r es unt i l Monday.

On Sunday af t er noon, t he road bet ween Her vey Bay andMar ybor ough had been cl osed and wat er was over t he r oad at StHel ens and Sal t water Cr eek Br i dge. Some coast al communi t i essout h of Maryborough wer e al so i sol ated.

Ri ver l evel s t empor ar i l y r eceded but peaked agai n on t hemorni ng of Wednesday 12t h of J anuary at j ust under ei ghtmet r es.

Many of t he i ssues exper i enced wi t hi n t he Fr aser Coast ar ea,t he pl anni ng and pr eparat i on f or t he wet season, t he i mmedi atemanagement and response t o t he f l oodi ng, f l ood f orecast s andwar ni ngs wer e t he subj ect of t he Commi ssi on' s I nt er i m Repor tpubl i shed on t he 1st of August t hi s year .

Dur i ng t hese hear i ngs, st at ement s f r om Mr St ephen War dr ope,


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t he Di st r i ct Di sast er Coor di nat or , Counci l l or Mi ck Kr uger ,Mayor of t he Fr aser Coast Regi onal Counci l , and Andr ew Br i en,t he t hen Chi ef Execut i ve Of f i cer of t he Fr aser Coast Regi onalCounci l , wi l l be t ender ed i n r espect t o t hese pl anni ng andpr epar at i on i ssues so t hat t hey f or m par t of t he publ i c recor dand can be made avai l abl e t o t he publ i c on t he Commi ss i on' swebsi t e.

Ever y per son' s, communi t y and r egi on' s exper i ence oft he December and J anuary f l oodi ng i s uni que and can of f er t ot he Commi ssi on a per spect i ve and oppor t uni t y f or f ur t herunder st andi ng about t he scal e, nat ur e and ef f ect s of t he f l oodevent s.

I n t oday' s hear i ngs, t he Commi ssi on wi l l hear evi dence f r om asampl e of t he r egi on' s r esi dent s who ar e di r ect l y af f ect ed byt he December and J anuary f l oodi ng. Some r ai sed i ssues aboutt he ways i n whi ch l and use pl anni ng can af f ect t he i mpact off l oodi ng on i nf r ast r uct ur e and pr oper t y.

Ms Kat hl een Wi l son, a r esi dent of Toogoom, wi l l gi ve evi denceabout t he i nundat i on of her pr oper t y i n l at e December , andagai n i n t he ear l y J anuar y, and t he way i n whi ch she bel i evesnew r esi dent i al devel opment near her pr oper t y has af f ect ed i t ssuscept i bi l i t y t o f l oodi ng.

Mr Gr aham Wode of Gr anvi l l e wi l l speak of hi s i sol at i on f or aper i od of seven days when t he Gr anvi l l e Br i dge becamei naccessi bl e t o vehi cl es.

Mr J ohn Kennedy, t he owner and manager of t he Wal l ace Hot eland Car avan Par k, wi l l be cal l ed. He pr ovi des i nf or mat i on

about hi s pl anni ng and pr epar at i on f or hi s si t e t o bestmi ni mi se damage f r om f l oodi ng.

Mr Mi chael Cox, co- owner and operat or of "Muddy Wat ers Caf e"and Mr Bi l l Br own, pr opr i et or of Mar y Ri ver Mar i ne Suppl i es,and chandl ery at t he Mar yborough Mar i na wi l l gi ve evi denceabout t hei r busi nesses not bei ng abl e t o be f ul l y vacat ed andof si gni f i cant pr oper t y damage t hat was sust ai ned.

Today we wi l l al so hear f r om Mr Pet er Car e, t he Chi efOper at i ng Of f i cer of t he Wi de Bay Water Corpor at i on, who wi l lgi ve evi dence about t he emer gency management and oper at i ngpr ocedur es of t he Lent hal l s Dam. Lent hal l s Dam i s l ocat ed ont he Bur r um r i ver cl ose t o t he t own of Howar d.

The dam i s oper at ed by Wi de Bay Wat er Cor porat i on and i n 2007,as a means of r ai si ng t he hei ght of t he dam t o st or e mor ewat er , cr est gat es wer e i nst al l ed on t he exi st i ng spi l l way oft he dam.

I t had been a l ong- t er m obj ect i ve si nce t he bui l di ng of t hedam i n t he ear l y 1980s t o event ual l y i ncr ease i t s capaci t y byphysi cal l y r ai si ng t he dam wal l .

I n Febr uar y 2008, i ssues wi t h t he oper at i on of t hese gat es

dur i ng a r ai nf al l event caused t he wat er s of t he Bur r um Ri ver


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t o back up, f l oodi ng areas upst r eam of t he dam, wi t h someef f ect s al so downst r eam.

I n t he 2010/ 2011 wet season, heavy r ai nf al l and i ssues wi t ht he gat es saw t he occur r ence of mi nor f l oodi ng event s at t hebegi nni ng of December .

As t he r ai nf al l per si st ed, a mor e si gni f i cant event at t he endof December saw t he mal f unct i on of t he cr est gates and anotherf l ood event occur r ed.

Mr Car e wi l l gi ve evi dence about t he oper at i on of t he gat esand t hei r mai nt enance, especi al l y pr i or t o t he commencement ofa wet season.

A f ocus of t he Commi ssi on' s f i nal r epor t wi l l be l and usepl anni ng t hr ough l ocal and r egi onal pl anni ng syst ems t omi ni mi se t he damage caused by f l oodi ng t o pr oper t y andi nf r ast r uct ur e.

The Commi ssi on wi l l cal l t hree counci l of f i cer s: Mr WayneSweeney, t he Di r ect or of I nf r ast r uct ur e and Envi r onment ;Mr Mi chael El l ery, Execut i ve Manager Devel opment Assessment ;and Ms Li sa Desmond, t he cur r ent Chi ef Execut i ve Of f i cer oft he counci l , t o gi ve evi dence about t hese i ssues.

These publ i c hear i ngs ar e onl y one par t of t he Commi ssi on' spr ocess. I f t her e ar e mat t er s that need f ur t her cl ar i f i cat i onor i nvest i gat i on, t hi s wi l l be done af t er t hese hear i ngswi t hi n t he t i me const r ai nt s of meet i ng t he f i nal r epor tdeadl i ne.

Madam Commi ssi oner , i f we coul d now adj our n f or j ust a shortper i od bef or e we cal l t he f i r st wi t ness?

COMMI SSI ONER: We wi l l adj our n f or f i ve mi nut es.

THE COMMI SSI ON ADJ OURNED AT 10. 10 A. M.


COMMI SSI ONER: Ms Wi l son, I am t hi nki ng t he cl ock mi ght be abi t of a chal l enge. When i t st r i kes t he hour , we mi ghtactual l y pause, I t hi nk, whi l e i t i s doi ng i t so t he r epor t er shave some chance.

MS WI LSON: Thank you, Madam Commi ssi oner . MadamCommi ssi oner , I cal l J ohn Kennedy.


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J OHN ANDREW KENNEDY, SWORN AND EXAMI NED:

MS WI LSON: I s your f ul l name J ohn Andr ew Kennedy?- - Yes, i ti s.

And you have made a st at ement f or t he Queensl and Fl oodsCommi ssi on of I nqui r y?- - Yes, I have.

Can I show you t hi s document , pl ease? I s t hat yourst at ement ?- - Yes, i t i s.

And t here i s some at t achment s t o t hat s t at ement ?- - Yes.

Madam Commi ss i oner , I t ender t hat st atement .

COMMI SSI ONER: Exhi bi t 780.

ADMI TTED AND MARKED "EXHI BI T 780"

MS WI LSON: Madam Commi ss i oner , at t hi s t i me I wi l l t ender ast atement of Andr ew Geor ge Br i en. He was the Chi ef Execut i veOf f i cer of t he counci l and he has r esponded t o some of t hemat t ers r ai sed i n Mr Kennedy' s st atement



MS WI LSON: Mr Kennedy, you owned and operat ed Wal l ace Mot elCar avan Par k?- - Cor r ect

How l ong have you been doi ng t hat f or ?- - J ust over si x year s.

So about 2005?- - That ' s cor r ect , yeah.

And t hi s pr oper t y, f or t oday' s pur poses, si gni f i cant l y i sbor der ed by t he Mar y Ri ver ?- - Techni cal l y, t her e i s a cr eekt hat comes around t he bor der but i t j oi ns up wi t h t he r i ver .

So how f ar woul d your si t e be away f r om t he Mary Ri ver ?- - 40met r es.

Now, bef ore 2010/ 2011, t he f l ood event t hat you j ustexper i enced, i n t he t i me t hat you' ve been oper at i ng t hi s hot elhave you exper i enced any ot her f l ood event s?- - No.

When you pur chased t hi s pr oper t y, di d you make i nqui r i es about


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t he pot ent i al f or f l oodi ng on your si t e?- - We di d and we wer ewel l awar e of t he f act t hat i t does f l ood and Mar ybor ough i s af l ood ci t y.

Who di d you make t hose i nqui r i es wi t h, Mr Kennedy?- - Wi t h t henormal counci l checks.

And t hose nor mal counci l checks, di d t hat i ncl ude l ooki ng atsome maps f r om t he counci l ?- - I t does. As wel l as busi nesscont act s t hat we est abl i shed at t he t i me when we were buyi ngi t , a bi t of r esear ch j ust ar ound t own, pr evi ous owner s,t hi ngs l i ke t hat .

So at t he t i me t hat you pur chased t he pr oper t y you were awaret hat i t was suscept i bl e t o f l oodi ng?- - We wer e. Wi t h t hecaveat t hat t he Mar y f l oods, but i t nor mal l y t akes t hr ee,maybe t wo days t o r i se. So t here i s a ver y i mpor t antconsi derat i on when we f orked out qui t e a subst ant i al amount ofmoney f or a pr oper t y r i ght next t o t he r i ver .

So why was t hat a consi der at i on, t he t i me t hat i t t ook t heMar y Ri ver t o r i se?- - Because i t al l owed us t o evacuat e al lof t he asset s t o mi t i gat e t he cost s of oper at i ng a busi ness i na f l ood pr one ar ea. So i t was ver y i mpor t ant .

So you pur chased t he pr oper t y knowi ng t hat i t woul d f l ood?- -Yes.

But t aki ng i nt o account t hat t he Mar y Ri ver t akes t wo t o t hr eedays and you wi l l have t i me t o get out your asset s?- - Yep.

Now, i n t er ms of t he J anuar y f l ood t hat you exper i enced t hi s

year , par agr aph 6 of your st atement descr i bes t he begi nni ng oft he f l ood event . One of t he i ssues t hat you r ai se i n yourst at ement i s somet hi ng t hat you j ust spoke about , t he rat e oft he r i se of t he Mar y Ri ver . Tel l us about t hat ? Tel l us howf ast i t r ose?- - Wel l , i t was scar y because we sat ar ound t hatni ght wi t h sor t of r ai nf al l t hat we' ve never exper i encedbef or e. I mean, we coul dn' t even have a beer t hat eveni ng, i twas such a ner ve- r acki ng l evel of r ai n, so we expect edsomet hi ng t o happen. So t he onl y avenue we knew t o moni t ort he pot ent i al f l oodi ng of t he Mar y Ri ver i n Mar ybor ough wast hr ough t he Bur eau of Meteorol ogy si t e. So we moni t ored t hatr el i gi ousl y at t he t i me - t he updat es onl y came ever y t hr eehour s - so at t he same t i me we went down t o t he r i ver and weobser ved r i ver hei ght s, and, t o be honest , r i ght t hr ough unt i l11 o' cl ock at ni ght t he r i ver had bar el y moved. So l ot s andl ot s of r ai n but t he r i ver had bar el y moved.

What day ar e we t al ki ng about ?- - That was t he Fr i day ni ght .

And can you t el l us t he dat e?- - I can' t r emember .

The 7t h?- - 7t h.

So you went down t o t he r i ver and you saw i t bar el y r i si ng?- -Yep.


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Then di d i t r each a st age where i t r ose qui ckl y?- - Wel l , i tdi d. We di dn' t st ay down t here t o wat ch t he r i ver ; we werehopi ng t hat , you know, bei ng a f l ood ci t y t her e woul d beadequate model l i ng and we woul d get pl ent y of not i ce of adi sast er t ype f l ood. So we had t o wai t t hr ee hour s. That wast he wi ndow. So gut f eel , more t han anyt hi ng. There was nophone cal l s, no nothi ng. So we had no i dea of what was

happeni ng anywhere and we r el i ed on t hi s i nf or mat i on. So Iact i vel y made sure ever ybody went t o bed t o get a coupl e ofhour s' sl eep because I j ust had a f eel i ng. So we got up agai nat 2 o' cl ock i n t he mor ni ng.

And when you say we got up, t hat i s you- - - - - ?- - Act ual l y, Igot up mysel f but I had not i f i ed st af f t o be pr epar ed- - - - -

Okay?- - - - - - - basi cal l y.

And at 2 i n t he morni ng?- - At 2 i n t he morni ng I met t he CEOof t he counci l on t he edge of our pr oper t y and we bot h l ookeddown at t he r i ver and we swor e. Because i t had r i sen t hatf ast i t was - we knew t her e was ver y l i t t l e t hat coul d bedone, i t was comi ng and i t was comi ng ver y, ver y qui ckl y. Sowe basi cal l y l ooked at one anot her , shr ugged and j ust st ar t edwor k.

And t he wor k was t o evacuat e your s i t e?- - That ' s r i ght .

Now, you had done some pr epar at i on and pl anni ng bef or e t he wetseason and t he cycl one season i n r el at i on t o evacuat i ng yourpar k?- - Yep.

I n an event of a f l ood?- - Yes.

I s t hat t he case?- - Yes.

Can you t el l us about t he pr epar at i on t hat you di d?- - Wel l ,we asked a l ot of quest i ons f r om ol d- t i mer s around t own as t o,you know, t o t r y and get t i me- f r ames and t hi ngs l i ke t hat , andi t al ways kept comi ng back t o t hat t wo t o t hr ee days. That

j ust gave us, you know, a cr i t er i a, i f you l i ke, and t hen wepr oceeded t o i dent i f y al l t he t hi ngs t hat needed t o ber emoved, or moved, or pi cked, or pl ugged, what ever i t was, anddevel oped a pl an. I have done a l ot of pl anni ng f orbusi nesses over t he year s, so we ended up wi t h a pl an. I t was- agai n, i t was about a t wo- day pl an.

And you moved as much mat er i al f r om t he gr ound l evel aspossi bl e?- - Yes.

And you pumped up t he t yr es of t he car avans?- - We - i t wasj ust part of t he process. Ther e was l ot s of t hi ngs. We havecycl one chai ns on al l of our asset s t hat ar e moveabl e, we' vegot sewer age connect ed, wat er connect ed, el ect r i ci t y, al l oft hose t hi ngs. St ep- by- st ep pumpi ng up t he t yr es i s j ust oneof t he pr ocesses. I t hi nk we' d al r eady done t hat t he weekbef or e because t her e was a mi nor f l ood, so t hat r eal l yi ndi cat ed t o us we shoul d be pr epar ed f or t hose sor t s of

t hi ngs.


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Now, at 2 a. m. when you saw how f ar t he r i ver had r i sen di dyou deci de t hen i t was now t i me t o st art evacuat i on?- - Yep.


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pl anni ng t hat was i n pl ace, and I accept t hat . I t ' s j ust - i twasn' t shar ed wi t h us, and perhaps par t of t he pr ocess of anygood pl an i s t o communi cat e, and I t hi nk t hat ' s al l I coul dadd t o t hat .

He does set out some of t he occasi ons when he spoke t o you andset s out - so, t her e' s not hi ng you f ur t her wi sh t o add?- - No.

Thank you, Mr Kennedy. That ' s al l t he quest i ons I ' ve got f oryou.

COMMI SSI ONER: I ' l l j ust have t o f i nd my way around.Ms McLeod?

MS McLEOD: I have no quest i ons, t hank you.

MR ROLLS: I have no quest i ons, t hank you, Commi ssi oner .

COMMI SSI ONER: They' r e t he onl y ot her appear ances?

MS WI LSON: Madam Commi ssi oner , may Mr Kennedy be excused?

COMMI SSI ONER: Thank you, Mr Kennedy, you' r e excused?- - Thankyou.

WI TNESS EXCUSED

MR CALLAGHAN: I cal l Gr aham Wode.


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XN: MR CALLAGHAN 3951 WI T: WODE G W

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GRAHAM WI LLI AM WODE, SWORN AND EXAMI NED:

MR CALLAGHAN: Coul d you t el l t he Commi ssi on your f ul l name,pl ease?- - Gr aham Wi l l i am Wode, W- O- D- E.

Mr Wode, you' r e a r et i r ed pol i ce of f i cer ; i s t hat cor r ect?- -Yes.

You r esi de i n Hof f man St r eet at Gr anvi l l e?- - 28 Hof f manSt r eet , yes.

You prepar ed a st at ement f or t hese proceedi ngs, and t hat ' s ast at ement dat ed 5 Sept ember 2011; i s t hat r i ght ?- - Yes.

I ' l l show you a coupl e of document s. Fi r st l y, I ' l l show yout he st at ement whi ch you pr epar ed. That ' s a copy of t hat , i si t ?- - Yes.

I t ender t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: And si nce maki ng your st at ement you' ve al so

made a f ur t her submi ssi on t o t he Commi ssi on; i s t hatcor r ect ?- - Yes, t wo, I t hi nk. Two, I t hi nk, by memor y.Basi cal l y t hey' r e al l t oget her , yes.

Yes, we' ve r ecei ved i t i n i nst al ment s; i s t hat cor r ect ?- -That ' s cor r ect , yes.

And we' ve onl y j ust r ecei ved t he l ast par t of i t i n t he past24 hour s or so; i s t hat cor r ect ?- - Dat ed t he 10t h of Oct ober .

Al l r i ght . Some of t he ot her par t i es mi ght have onl y j ustr ecei ved t hat , as i ndeed have we, but I ' l l t ender t hatsubmi ssi on.



MR CALLAGHAN: Now, coul d I t ake you t o your st at ement andparagr aph 3 where you r ecor d that on t he morni ng of t he 8t hof J anuar y t o t he eveni ng of t he 14t h of J anuar y, you wer e

conf i ned, basi cal l y, t o t he ar ea of Gr anvi l l e; i s t hat


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cor r ect?- - Yes.

That was due t o t he cl osure of t he Gr anvi l l e Br i dge?- - Yes,and access r oads t o i t .

Coul d I j ust ask you about t hat ? I t hi nk you i ndi cat e i n yourst at ement t hat t he Gr anvi l l e Br i dge cr osses t he Mar y Ri ver .

I t pr ovi des access f or r esi dent s of Gr anvi l l e and ot hersubur bs t o t he Mar ybor ough CBD; i s t hat r i ght ?- - Yes.

And, i n f act , i f we' r e abl e t o l ook at annexur e A t o yourst at ement , t he f i r st phot o i n t hat annexur e i s t he phot o oft he br i dge i n quest i on; i s that r i ght ?- - The br i dge wi t h t hehump, yes.

Yes?- - The hump i s where t he barges used t o go t hroughbef or e.

I t used t o be a dr awbr i dge?- - Dr awbr i dge, yes.

Now, as you say, t hat ' s l ocat ed on Ti ger St r eet ?- - Ti gerSt r eet on t he t own si de. I t ' s on t wo st r eet s, but i t ' s acont i nuat i on.

A cont i nuat i on?- - Yes.

And on the Maryborough si de of t he - on t he CBD si de of t her i ver - - - - - ?- - Yes, i s Ti ger .

Ti ger St r eet i s i nt er sect ed by Kent St r eet ?- - Yes.

And t hen Mar y St r eet ?- - Cor r ect .

Okay. And t hose st r eet s ar e maj or t hor oughf ar es l eadi ng i nt ot he CBD?- - Yes.

Per haps i f we l ooked at annexur e B - t he f i r st or maybe secondphot o i n t hat annexur e i l l ust r at es t he di p i n t he sect i on of

Ti ger St r eet whi ch you wer e concer ned wi t h. I t mi ght be t henext one, I t hi nk - oh, t hey' r e pr obabl y bot h t he same. Buti s t hat t he ver y l ow sect i on- - - - - ?- - Yes.

- - - - - of t he st r eet t hat you' r e concer ned about ?- - Yes, and i ti ndi cat es t he vehi cl e i n t he di p.

Al l r i ght . And obvi ousl y - wel l , per haps i t ' s obvi ous, but ,dur i ng J anuar y, t hat par t i cul ar di p was f i l l ed wi t h f l oodwat er s; i s t hat t he case?- - Yes, t o about t he hei ght of t hatpar t i cul ar vehi cl e.

Of whi ch vehi cl e?- - The vehi cl e i n t he di p.

Okay. Ther e' s a whi t e - can' t r eal l y t el l what i t i s - butvan or somet hi ng?- - I t ' s a whi t e f our - wheel dr i ve wi t h acanopy on t he back of i t .

You i ndi cat e i n your st at ement t hat wi t h Ti ger and Kent St r eet

cl osed, r esi dent s of Gr anvi l l e had no access t o t he CBD, and


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you say t hat t hi s af f ect ed r esi dent s of Gr anvi l l e' s accessi nt o t he cent r al ser vi ces. Can you j ust el abor at e on t hat ?- -

Yes, I ' ve - I ' ve got t o go a bi t f ur t her . I ' ve suggest ed t hatt he r oad l evel be r ai sed i n t he di p, sor t of wher e t he vehi cl ei s t o t he same road l evel as Ti ger and - no, Mary and GuavaSt r eet s, down f ur t her , and t hat woul d gi ve you a di r ect accesst o t own.

I was goi ng t o t ake you t o t hat ?- - Yes, as i t i s at t hepr esent st age, we coul d not get essent i al servi ces, nor malshoppi ng, f or f uel , what ever - use t own as your nor mal baseand use t he Gr anvi l l e shops and t he Gr anvi l l e ser vo as yournor mal t ype cor ner st or e. As i t was, we r equi r ed t o use t hecor ner st or e t ype essent i al ser vi ce as our maj or essent i alser vi ce dur i ng t he t i me of t he f l ood.

And your si mpl e poi nt i s t o r ai se t hat r oad or r ai se t hat di pt o a l evel t hat i t doesn' t f l ood?- - To t he same l evel so t hati t gi ves us appr oxi mat el y, I woul d t hi nk, anot her met r e and ahal f access. I t gi ves us mor e sor t of - you know, suf f i ci entt i me t o get over and back, get our ser vi ces and get back agai nt o Gr anvi l l e and t o t he ot her coast al communi t i es down f ur t heron t he Cool ool a Coast Road.

Al l r i ght . Now, t her e' s anot her i ssue t hat you r ai se i n yourst at ement - I t hi nk i t mi ght be easi est t o t ake you t o somephot ogr aphs i n Annexur e C. The f i r st phot ogr aph i n t hatannexur e appear s t o be a st or mwat er pi pe; i s t hat r i ght ?- -St or mwater pi pe, yes.

We mi ght j ust r ef er back t o what you speak t o i n paragr aph 7and f ol l owi ng?- - St or mwat er dr ai n - i s t hat t he one you' r e

af t er ? The dr ai n?

Okay. Wel l , r ef er r i ng back t o par agr aph 7 - I mi ght have t hi swr ong - you t al k i n paragr aph 7 about l arge st ormwater pi pet hat f i l t er s st or mwat er di r ect l y on t o Guava St r eet ?- - Yes,t hat ' s f r om Downer EDI sheds.

Whi ch sect i on ar e you l ooki ng at t her e?- - That ' s t he onemar ked af t er "C" . "C" i s t he dr ai n, t he open dr ai n i n t hedr i p i n Ti ger St r eet wher e you saw t he f our - wheel dr i ve.

Four or f i ve phot os on f r om t hat i s a phot o of t he pi pe; i st hat r i ght ?- - Yes.

The poi nt you make i n your st at ement bei ng, I t hi nk, t hat i nt he ar ea sout h of Guava St r eet , t her e' s a l ar ge cat chment ar eat hat i n t i mes of f l ood car r i es wat er t o Guava St r eet ?- - Yes.

And a combi nat i on of wat er f r om t he cat chment and f r om t hest or mwat er pi pe even cont r i but ed t o shi ppi ng cont ai ner s bei ngwashed away dur i ng t he f l ood; i s t hat r i ght ?- - Cont ai ner swer e moved. That par t i cul ar - t he vol ume of wat er f r om t hepar t i cul ar sheds was of no r eal si gni f i cance t o t he maj orf l oodi ng as t he f l oodi ng i n t he pocket i n t he paddock opposi t ei s actual l y t he cont i nuat i on of t he mout h of Ti nana Cr eek,

wher e i t shor t cut s i nsi de t he r i ver .


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16/69


XN: MS McLEOD 3955 WI T: WODE G W

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Woul d t he sor t s of t hi ngs you have i n mi nd be embraced by t hatr ecommendat i on?- - Basi cal l y r adi o and t he equi val ent , yes.

COMMI SSI ONER: That means, of course, t hat you need t o havebat t er i es and a bat t er y- oper at ed r adi o?- - Yes.

What ' s cont empl at ed t her e i s you can f unct i on t her e i f your

el ect r i ci t y goes of f ?- - Yes, t he or di nar y ol d st andar dt r ansi st or r adi o, t he most basi c communi cat i on syst em of al l .

Exact l y.

MR CALLAGHAN: And al so i n par agr aph 10, you r ai se t he needf or consi der at i on of r ever si on t o manual r eadi ngs of f l oodl evel s?- - Yes, I di d.

Woul d you l i ke t o el abor at e on t hat ?- - Yes. Dur i ng myexper i ence as a pol i ce of f i cer , I was st at i oned at bot hMar ybor ough and Ti ar o. I n t he par t i cul ar t i me at Ti ar a, I wast her e dur i ng t he 1968 f l ood, whi ch was one of t he hi ghestf l oods pr i or t o ' 74. I t ' s basi cal l y onl y been beat en by ' 74.We had manual r eadi ngs under t he BOM syst em, as you know i t ,basi cal l y al l t he way down t he r i ver , between Gympi e andMar ybor ough. I cont act ed - i n l at t er year s, I shoul d say - i nl at t er year s, I exper i enced mor e f l oodi ng her e bef or e Ir et i r ed i n 1997. Dur i ng t he per i od af t er r et i r ement , or cl oseenough t o i t , t hat was t he t i me of i nt r oduct i on of aut omat i csyst em whereby t he manual r eaders were phased out . I have acopy of t he BOM map r evi sed i n 2009 f or t he Mary Ri verf l oodi ng ar ea, and l ocat ed on i t i s t he l egend t hat t her e i sst i l l manual r eadi ngs at bot h Mi va and Ti ar o, and t hat i si ncor r ect . They have now r ever t ed t o aut omat i c readi ngs wi t h

no manual r eadi ngs r ecor ded. Var i ous ot her l ocat i ons on t hoser i ver syst ems and cr eek syst ems al so r ever t onl y t o aut omat i cr eadi ngs. I n ot her words, we have no manual r eadi ngs bet weenGympi e and Maryborough, whi ch I consi der absol ut el yunbel i evabl e.

Al l r i ght . They' r e t he onl y quest i ons t hat I have of Mr Wode,t hank you.

COMMI SSI ONER: Ms McLeod?

MS McLEOD: I have a coupl e of quest i ons f or Mr Wode and Ishoul d not e I ' ve onl y j ust got Mr Wode' s addi t i onal st at ementand I haven' t had t i me t o get i nst r uct i ons about t he mat t er sMr Wode j ust r ai sed. Mr Wode, my name i s McLeod and I appearf or t he Commonweal t h and, i n t hi s i nst ance, t he Bur eau ofMet eor ol ogy?- - Yes.

I n t hi s i nst ance, can I ask you i n r el at i on t o your opi ni ont hat i t woul d be pr ef erabl e t o have manual syst ems i n t hel ower Mar y r i ver . I s t hat f or , i n your vi ew, a mat t er ofaccur acy, or what i s t he r eason f or t hat ?- - I t ' s a mat t er ofhavi ng a secondary back- up. At t he pr esent st age, we are

r el yi ng whol l y and sol el y on aut omat i c r ecor di ngs. I n t he


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XN: MS McLEOD 3957 WI T: WODE G W

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Yes, I ' m sor r y, t hroughout , say, t he 7t h t o t he 9t hof J anuar y?- - They wer e not di r ect ed i n any par t i cul art i mef r ame on an hour l y sor t of a basi s, no.

You wer en' t l i st eni ng t o t hem, or t hey di dn' t - t hey wer en' tbei ng br oadcast ?- - I was i sol at ed, t her e was no poi nt .

I see. So, you coul dn' t l i st en t o t hem; i s that your poi nt ?- -No, no, no, as I sai d, we wer e al r eady i sol at ed. Ther e was nopoi nt i n me l i st eni ng t o t hem.

Okay. I t ake i t f r om t hat t hat i t f ol l ows t hat you di dn' tl i st en t o t hem?- - I l i st ened t o some.

Okay?- - I l ooked at t he hei ght of t he r i ver , knew what t her i ver si t uat i on was i n t he past . As I have got an i nt er est i npr oper t y at Ti ar a, got addi t i onal i nf or mat i on f r om t henei ghbour s at Ti ar a, and I coul d not see any poi nt i nl i st eni ng t o t hem f ur t her whi l e we knew t he f l ood gauge wasst i l l avai l abl e - s t i l l t here.

Thanks.

COMMI SSI ONER: Mr Rol l s?

MR ROLLS: I have no quest i ons, Commi ssi oner , however t hemat er i al t hat ' s been gi ven t o t he St at e thi s mor ni ng f r om t heCommi ssi on - t he addi t i onal mat er i al f r om Mr Wode - I haven' thad an oppor t uni t y t o seek i nst r uct i ons and I woul d seekl eave, i f necessar y, t o put i n addi t i onal mat er i al i n r esponset o i t .

COMMI SSI ONER: Yes.

MS McLEOD: I shoul d say I woul d seek t he same oppor t uni t y.

COMMI SSI ONER: Yes. Any f ur t her quest i ons?

MR CALLAGHAN: I have not hi ng f ur t her , Commi ss i oner . MayMr Wode be excused?

COMMI SSI ONER: Thank you, Mr Wode. You' r e excused?- - Thankyou.

WI TNESS EXCUSED

MR CALLAGHAN: I cal l Wi l l i am Br own.


19/69


XN: MR CALLAGHAN 3958 WI T: BROWN W H

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WI LLI AM HI LTON BROWN, SWORN AND EXAMI NED:

MR CALLAGHAN: Your f ul l name i s Wi l l i am Hi l t on br own; i s t hatcor r ect?- - Cor r ect.

Mr Br own, you own t he Mar y Ri ver Mar i ne Suppl i es and Chandl eryat t he Mar ybor ough Mar i na; i s t hat cor r ect ?- - That ' s cor r ect .I ' m al so the manager of t he mar i na as wel l .

You prepar ed a st at ement f or t he Commi ssi on of I nqui r y; i st hat cor r ect?- - That ' s cor r ect.

I ' l l get you t o t ake a l ook at t hi s. I t ' s a copy of yourst at ement wi t h accompanyi ng phot ogr aphs and so on; i s t hatcor r ect ?- - Yep, t hat ' s cor r ect .

I t ender t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: Now, t hat st at ement i s now bef or e t heCommi ssi on, Mr Br own, and f or ms par t of t he recor d, but I dowant t o t ake you t o a coupl e of mat t er s t hat you r ai se?- -

Yep.

I f we can pi ck up at par agr aph 5, you i ndi cat e that your ecei ved i nf or mat i on f r om some peopl e you knew - t hat ' sNevi l l e For d and Dave Pat r i ck - t hat t hey bel i eved t hat t hewater - or bel i eved t hat water woul d i nundat e your busi ness upt o about one met r e at 2 p. m. on t he 27t h; i s t hat r i ght ?- -

That ' s cor r ect .

Di d you know t he basi s upon whi ch t hey t ol d you t hi s?- - Yes,I do.

Can you t el l us?- - Yep. I ' ve owned t he busi ness and I boughtt he busi ness of f Nevi l l e Ford some t wo years ago.

I see?- - And under t he under t aki ng of pur chasi ng t he busi nessand comi ng f r om an area t hat was r enowned f or f l oodi ng back i nVi ct or i a, I asked t he per t i nent quest i ons i n r egar ds t of l oodi ng and so f or t h. Nevi l l e i ndi cat ed t hat , yes, t hebusi ness does get i nundat ed and, under normal ci r cumst ances,as pr evi ousl y t ender ed here, t her e' s been a wi ndow of bet weent wo t o t hr ee days and, under normal ci r cumst ances, we woul dget al l of our st ock out . I asked hi m how he r ead t hosepar t i cul ar - how he i ndi cat ed t hat t he r i ver woul d f l ood andhow he knew what was t aki ng pl ace and he sai d over t he many

year s t hat he had par t aken conver sat i ons wi t h Dave Pat r i ck, a


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21/69


XN: MR CALLAGHAN 3960 WI T: BROWN W H

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We' r e f l ooded one met r e bef or e t he Bur eau i ssues a mi nor f l oodwar ni ng. We' r e set at f our met r es, and at f i ve met r es t heBur eau i ssues a warni ng.

Al l r i ght . Comi ng back t o t he 27t h - and I suppose t hi s j usti l l ust r at es t he val ue of a war ni ng - you wer e act ual l y abl e t oar r ange f or a r emoval van on t hat day?- - Yes, we knew exact l y

what was goi ng t o t ake pl ace and, by t he way, on t he 8t hof J anuar y, we had set i n pl ace t hat we were goi ng t o evacuatebecause we knew t hat t hi ngs were not goi ng t o be good. I t wast he l ocal t el emet r y that wasn' t i n pl ace at Ti ar a - t her e wasone i ndi cat i on at 4 o' cl ock f r om Ti ar o t o say 9. 5 met r es. Thenext t i me t hat we got an i ndi cat or f r om Ti ar o was af t er t heday, and we wer e al r eady at 7. 5 met r es at t hat poi nt , and- - - - -

Wel l - - - - - ?- - - - - - - i f t her e was t el emet r y comi ng out of Ti ar o,we' ve got an ei ght hour wi ndow bet ween Ti ar o and Mar ybor ough.I n ei ght hour s, we woul d have had our compl ete st ock and themar i na cl eared out .


22/69

12102011 D46. T3/ZMS QUEENSLAND FLOODS COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

XN: MR CALLAGHAN - 3961 WI T: BROWN W H

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And j ust t o t i dy up, on t he 27t h t hat ' s when we come back t ot al k about t he event s of t he 8t h, t he f act i s t hat wi t h t hatear l y war ni ng you wer e abl e t o r emove- - - - - ?- - We got al l ourst ock.

- - - - - st ock, but you wer e up and t r adi ng agai n, was i t , on t he29t h?- - 29t h, yep. We washed t he shop out . I t was - i t ' s

what we cal l a nui sance f l ood. I t came t hr ough t he shop 750mi l . The bur eau di dn' t i ndi cat e t hat we wer e goi ng t o have ami nor f l ood t hat par t i cul ar day ei t her , by t he way. So wi t hNev - Nevi l l e and Dave Pat r i cks f ormul a we al r eady new whatwas goi ng t o t ake pl ace.

That was on t he 29t h?- - On t he 27t h and we wer e- - - - -

Sor r y, 27t h?- - And we wer e back open on t he 29t h because wehad t he pl an i n pl ace.

Ri ght . And t he second f l ood event began on t he 7t h?- - On t he7t h.

And you agai n began t o move st ock on t hi s occasi on?- - Forsur e.

Yes?- - Yeah.

Were you abl e t o move ever yt hi ng t hat you want ed t o?- - No.

And you were abl e t o remove some ref r i gerators and sor t oft hi ng?- - To br i ng you up t o speed, what act ual l y t ook pl acewas I went and ret r i eved my wi f e and my son f r om Hervey Bay,came back and we had made ar r angement s t hat we wer e movi ng out

t he next day. So we knew t hat we were goi ng t o be t her e al lni ght , moor i ng st ock t o a hi gher gr ound i f need be and worki ngon t he t el emet r y t hat we wer e gi ven f r om t he BOM si t e. Bot hNevi l l e and Dave i ndi cated t hat we wer e pr obabl y okay t hr ought he ni ght , but we woul d pr obabl y have to evacuat e on t heSatur day. So we wer e al l i n t he opi ni on t hat we were goi ng t ohave t o evacuate on t he Satur day. Had we had t el emet r y, agai nf r om Ti ar o, t o know t hat t hat l ocal r ai n was f al l i ng i n Ti ar oat t he r at e t hat i t was and t he r i ver l evel was r i si ng at t her at e t hat i t was, i t was somet hi ng l i ke a f our met r e r i se at

Ti ar o and pr i or upst r eam f r om t hat was probabl y onl y hal f amet r e a r i se. Ther e' s a bi g di f f er ence i n wat er i f you knowwhat ' s goi ng on and, agai n, had we had ei ght hour s we woul dhave got out , but t hat r i ver came up and we - i t r ose up t hewal l one met r e i n under hal f an hour .

And I t hi nk you r ecal l ed t hat i t 7. 30 - sor r y, 7. 30 on t he 7t hyou wer e t ol d by Nevi l l e and hi s son t hat you needed t oevacuat e i mmedi atel y?- - Yes.

Fur t her on i n your st at ement , as you descr i bed i n yourst atement what happened t hereaf t er i ncl udi ng t he need t o use aboat , i t was i n par agr aph 13?- - Yep.

To move proper t y f r om t he mar i na?- - Yep.


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XN: MR CALLAGHAN - 3962 WI T: BROWN W H

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Par agr aph 16 t el l s us- - - - -

COMMI SSI ONER: I t hi nk i t ' s no use whi l e t hi s i s on,Mr Cal l aghan.

MR CALLAGHAN: J ust t aki ng you t o par agr aph 16 and quer yi ngwhet her t hat gi ves us some cl ue as t o the f orce of t he water

i nvol ved because anchor s were act ual l y washed away; i s t hatr i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect . We f ound si x 45 pound anchor s t hatwer e washed out ont o t he whar f proper and that woul d be some15 t o 20 met r es f r om where t hey wer e l ocated and that ' s notnormal f or what woul d normal l y happen i n t he Mary Ri ver .

That was what I was goi ng t o ask you even i f you don' t knowyour sel f , pr esumabl y you have di scussed wi t h l ocal s as t o whatt hat meant t o t he extent of t hi s f l ood?- - For sur e. Undernor mal ci r cumst ances - and I asked - I asked Nevi l l e onpr evi ous occasi ons and I t hi nk he i ndi cat ed t hat t he back oft he shop whi ch act ual l y i s cl osest t o Kent St r eet i s nor mal l yan eddy of wat er . Ther e i sn' t much movement . The wat ernor mal l y f l ows f ast past t he f r ont of t he shop and al ong t hemar i na pr oper . Thi s par t i cul ar case i t came down f r omKent St r eet t hr ough t he r ai l way l i ne and i t was r unni ngpr obabl y f ast er t hr ough t her e t han i t was on t he r i ver pr oper .

Al l r i ght . J ust t o f i ni sh of f , I suppose t wo opi ni ons f r omyou. Fi r st of al l , on t he quest i on of t he adequacy ofwar ni ngs whi ch you t ouched upon i n par agr aph 19 and 20, whatwoul d you say as t o how warni ngs coul d be i mpr oved?- - Fi r stof al l we need t el emet r y i n Ti aro as a mi ni mum. And t or ei t er at e what t he pr evi ous wi t ness sai d, manual r eadi ngs needt o be i n pl ace as wel l as t he aut omat ed. I f Dave Pat r i ck had

been gi ven an oppor t uni t y t o addr ess - he' s got - he' s got acompl ete run down of what t he t el emet r y was dur i ng t he f l oodand some of t he cases t hat we got were up t o 12 hour s l at er .So t hat needs t o be updat ed. And t he warni ng syst em. AndMaryborough' s a very, ver y smal l communi t y, t here' s mi ni malpeopl e get af f ect ed i n a nor mal f l ood. Mi ni mal peopl e getaf f ect ed. I ' ve asked f r om counci l t o set a cont i ngency pl ani n pl ace and i nvol ve t he key pl ayer s. I ' m st i l l wai t i ng f or ar esponse.

I di d ask you speci f i cal l y about war ni ngs. You' ve gone a bi twi der and t hat ' s f i ne because t he next quest i on I have f or youi s about t he f ur t her i nf or mat i on whi ch you t hi nk shoul d beavai l abl e and you may have al r eady answered t hat i n t he cour seof t he answer you j ust gave?- - Of cour se.

But i s t her e anythi ng el se i s my quest i on?- - At t he end oft he day a pr oper cont i ngency pl an i n pl ace f or al l t hebusi nesses t hat ar e down al ong t he r i ver and t hat goes f r omt he mot or boat cl ub, Whi t es Engi neer i ng and our sel ves. We' r eal l f l ood f r i endl y busi nesses. We know what ' s goi ng t o t akepl ace. We know how t o handl e i t t o get our st uf f out . Theonl y t hi ng we need f r om anyone i s suppor t f r om counci l t o haver oad cl osur es i n pl ace. The ot her enf or cement agency i s t ost op peopl e f r om comi ng down wi t h motor vehi cl es so t hat we

can get our st ock and al l of our pl ant and equi pment out .


24/69


XN: MS McLEOD - 3963 WI T: BROWN W H

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I t ' s a si mpl e equat i on. Let ' s get back t o basi cs. A phonecal l . I t ' s al l i t needs. A phone r egi st r ar of peopl e weknow. Bef ore counci l knew on t hat par t i cul ar day, when Iaddr essed i t wi t h Mi ck Kr uger on t he 8t h, he suggest ed t o met hat he di d not know t hat t here was goi ng t o be a f l ood unt i l11. 30. At 11. 30 we were wal ki ng wai st deep i n our busi nesses.We coul d have t ol d hi m at 8. 30.

So, i n summar y, woul d your pr oposi t i on be - i s somethi ng al ongt he l i nes of you' r e pr epar ed t o embr ace t he r i sk of f l oodi ng,i t goes wi t h t he t er r i t or y?- - Of cour se.

You don' t want t hi ngs made any mor e di f f i cul t f or you?- -Exact l y. I f we get t he cor r ect t el emet r y and one of t he keyt hi ngs i s a f i ve met r e datum. When you' ve got busi nesses t hatar e f our met r e dat um, i t doesn' t equat e t o me and i t ' s beenasked of BOM on many occasi ons t o have i t changed by pr evi ousowners of t he busi ness and peopl e al ong t he r i ver andnot hi ng' s t aken pl ace.

Al l r i ght . They' r e al l t he quest i ons I have. J ust stay t her ef or a moment .

MS McLEOD: My name i s McLeod. I appear f or t he Commonweal t h.Your busi ness, you sai d, was f l ooded at f our met r es?- -Exact l y.

Now, f our met r es on my i nf ormat i on i s t he hi ghest ast r onomi calt i de l evel - - - - - ?- - No.

- - - - - f or t he Mar y Ri ver ?- - 3. 9.

Al l r i ght . Let ' s say 3. 9?- - Ther e' s a one met r e- - - - -

And a met r e above t hat i s t he heart of t he mi nor f l ood l evelset by t he bur eau whi ch i s at f i ve met r es?- - Cor r ect .

Ri ght . So your busi ness, do I t ake i t , woul d f l ood each t i met hat t hat hi gh t i de r eaches t he hi gh t i de l evel ?- - No, atf our met r es- - - - -

Yes?- - - - - - - t he wharf goes under .

Ri ght ?- - We' ve got anot her 250 mi l .

Have you r ai sed t he i ssue wi t h t he counci l of seeki ng t ochange t he mi nor f l ood l evel s?- - No.

You i ndi cat ed t hat you di dn' t exceed t hat mi nor f l ood l evel of5 met r es i n December , you got wat er i n, di d you say, but i twasn' t si gni f i cant ?- - I f you cal l 750 mi l not si gni f i cant ,yes, we got water .

Not compar ed t o t he J anuar y f l oods?- - That ' s exact l y r i ght .

Can I ask you ar e the ot her busi nesses t hat ar e on a si mi l ar


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l evel t o you ar ound t hat f our met r e mar k?- - Yes.

And t he mar i na' s about t he same l evel ?- - I ' m on t he mar i na.

Ri ght . Okay. Can I j ust ask you whet her you' r e awar e of somevar i at i ons i n war ni ngs and I ' l l t ake you t hr ough t hosewarni ngs i ssued by t he bur eau and you t el l me whether you' r e

awar e of t hem or not and I ' ve got t he war ni ngs her e. So i fyou don' t r emember t hem, t hat ' s f i ne t oo. Were you aware ofsever e weat her warni ng i ssued by t he bur eau around 11 a. m. onWednesday, 5t h of J anuar y, f or - i ndi cat i ng l ocal i sed f l ashf l oods and pot ent i al wor seni ng of t he exi st i ng f l oodsi t uat i on?- - Yes.

Were you aware of a f l ood warni ng i ssued at 5. 19 p. m. on t heThur sday, t he 6t h of J anuar y? I t ' s about 30 hour s ahead oft he mi nor f l ood l evel , pr edi ct i ng a mi nor f l ood l evel ?- - Forwher e?

For Maryborough?- - On what dat e was t hi s?

The 6t h of J anuar y?- - No.

Okay. Now, you ment i oned i n f act t he heavy r ai nf al l t hat f el li n t he l ower Mar y Ri ver and t he cr eeks - sor r y, i t wascor r ect , i sn' t i t , t hat t her e was ver y i nt ense r ai nf al lpar t i cul ar l y on t he Fr i day, t he 7t h, i n t he l ower Mar y Ri verand t he cr eeks j ust ar ound?- - Cor r ect .

J ust upst r eam and usual l y t he f l oodi ng t o Mar yborough comesvi a Gympi e f r om t he upper Mar y Ri ver ?- - That ' s cor r ect .

Yes. So t hi s r ai nf al l was unusual , i f you l i ke, because i tf el l most l y or l ar gel y i n t he l ower Mar y Ri ver cat chment ?- -Cor r ect .

Whi ch obvi ousl y woul d gi ve you and those pr edi ct i ng t he f l oodl evel s shor t er l ead t i me t o pr edi ct t he f l ood r i se?- - Ther ei s no model f or i t . The BOM doesn' t - BOM doesn' t - si t edoesn' t have any l ocal i sed f l oodi ng f or t he ar ea. They don' thave any t el emet r y. They have no i ndi cators.

Wel l , I ' l l j ust go back t o my quest i on whi ch i s t hat l ocal i sedi nt ense r ai nf al l i n t he l ower Mar y Ri ver woul d, as a mat t er ofl ogi c, gi ve you a shor t er l ead t i me t han i nt ense f l oodi ng i nt he upper Mary Ri ver t r avel l i ng downst r eam?- - Under normalci r cumst ances l ocal i sed r ai n doesn' t f l ood t he Mar y Ri ver .

And- - - - - ?- - I t doesn' t mat t er how i nt ense i t i s.

But i n t hi s i nst ance on t he Fr i day, t he 7t h, you had mor e than300 mi l s i n l ess t han 18 hour s and a f l ash f l ood, i n f act ,upst r eam at Ki l ki van?- - Ki l ki van.

Thank you. Wer e you awar e of t hat?- - That i nf or mat i on wasn' tf or t hcomi ng. We di dn' t know t here was 300 mi l . We l ooked ont he BOM si t e and we were qui t e awar e t hat t her e was very, ver y

heavy l ow depr essi on.


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Yes?- - And i t wasn' t goi ng away. I t went out t o sea and cameback.

Wel l , one of t he t hi ngs you di d say you l ooked f or was t her eadi ngs at Ti ar o?- - Ti ar o.

Ti ar o, sor r y.

COMMI SSI ONER: Ms McLeod' s f r om Mel bourne.

MS McLEOD: Hopef ul l y I can be f orgi ven many t hi ngs. OnFr i day t he 7t h of J anuar y at 7. 12 p. m. t he f l ood war ni ngi ssued by Ti ar o was f or , "Moder at e f l oodi ng cont i nui ngdownst r eam al ong t he Mar y Ri ver bet ween Mi va and Ti ar o, wi t hf ast r i ses occur r i ng wi t h t he heavy r ai nf al l dur i ng Fri dayaf t er noon and eveni ng. Ri ver l evel r i ses over ni ght ar eexpect ed t o mai nt ai n hi gh moder at e f l ood l evel s dur i ngSat ur day. " And t hen t he r eadi ngs f or Ti ar o ar e l i st ed. 9. 5met r es and r i si ng?- - That was at what t i me?

That was 7. 12 p. m. on Fr i day t he 7t h?- - That wasn' t on t heBOM si t e. That was at f our - i t was 9. 4 at f our .

Per haps you' r e t hi nki ng of t he war ni ng t hat was i ssued, t heone bef or e at 2. 28 p. m. ?- - I t wasn' t updat ed.

That mi ght be - di d not have a r eadi ng f or Ti ar o?- - I t di dn' thave an updat e af t er t hat , t hough.

You l ooked and you di d not see t hat war ni ng bei ng post ed?- -No.

Then on 11. 15 p. m. on Fr i day, t he 7t h of J anuar y, not i ng heavyr ai nf al l - cont i nui ng heavy r ai nf al l , cont i nues t o f al l acrosst he l ower Mar y cat chment bel ow Gympi e. Ment i ons t he amount oft he r ai nf al l , r i ver l evel s downst r eam of Mar ybor ough cur r ent l yexpect ed t o r each mi nor f l ood l evel of f i ve met r es over ni ghtFr i day?- - At what t i me was t hi s, sor r y?

11 p. m. Fr i day?- - At 11 p. m. Fr i day.

Yes?- - I was wai st deep i n wat er . We wer e al r eady over f i vemet r es at t hat st age.

The war ni ng at 11 p. m. says, "Exceed f i ve met r es over ni ght .Reached 6 met r es dur i ng Sat ur day. "?- - At 11 o' cl ock.

Yes?- - We wer e al r eady over a met r e of wat er so t hat ' s overt he f i ve met r e mark.

Ri ght ?- - So t her e was - at 8 o' cl ock what was t he war ni ngbecause, I ' m sor r y, at t hat t i me - at t hat t i me I was pr obabl yf r ant i c and I di dn' t l ook at any web si t es.

7 p. m. I ' ve ment i oned t he Ti ar o r eadi ng, 11 p. m. , t he war ni ngt o r each at l east si x met r es dur i ng Satur day?- - Had we got

t hat r epor t at seven- - - - -


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Yes?- - - - - - - t hat Ti ar o was - what was t he r eadi ng at Ti ar o atseven?

9. 5 met r es and r i si ng?- - Had we got t hat we woul d have movedear l i er .

Wer e you act ual l y checki ng your web si t e your sel f ?- - As wel l ,yes.

The 8. 2 met r e peak- - - - - ?- - Mmm- hmm.

- - - - - was r eached around 12. 30 on t he Sunday, t he 9t h; youagr ee wi t h t hat ?- - I do.

You di d not see at 4 p. m. on t he 7t h, Fr i day t he 7t h, apost i ng f or Ti ar o of 9. 5 met r es and r i si ng?- - I sai d t hatt hat was at 4 p. m. on Fr i day. That was t he onl y r eadi ng t hatwe - t he onl y t el emet r y t hat we got f r om Ti aro was at 4 p. m.at 9. 5 and r i si ng. The same t el emet r y was at 7 p. m. i f you goback and - you' ve j ust sai d i t t o me.

Yes, we mi ght be at cr oss- pur poses?- - I n our t hree houri nt er val - - - - -

Yes?- - - - - - - you' ve st i l l got t he same t el emet r y of 9. 5 andr i si ng.

Yes?- - So t here' s been no change. What you' r e sayi ng t o met her e' s been no change so t here wasn' t another r eadi ng at7 o' cl ock. They used t he same r eadi ng.

Ri ght . And t he r eadi ng- - - - - ?- - Was a manual r eadi ng and i twas used at 4 o' cl ock and t hey' ve used t he same one at7 o' cl ock.

Whi ch presumabl y means t her e hasn' t been an updat edcommuni cat i on t o t he bur eau?- - That ' s exact l y what I ' m t r yi ngt o say.

So woul d you accept - I ' l l ask you t he same quest i on I askedMr Wode. I f t her e was nobody communi cat i ng t he manual r eadi ngt hr ough t o the bur eau, t he updat e, t hen obvi ousl y t hey can' tpost t he updat ed f l ood l evel ?- - Cor r ect .

Yes. Di d you t ake i nt o account t he narr at i ve t hat was post edor i s i t t he case t hat you di d not see at al l t hat 7 p. m.warni ng on t he 7t h of J anuary?- - The 7 p. m. r eport wasexact l y t he same as t he - f r om Ti ar o was exact l y t he same ast he 4 p. m.

I ' m sor r y, t he nar r at i ve about t he moder at e f l oodi ng bet weenMar y Ri ver and Ti ar o f ast r i si ng occur r i ng?- - That st i l lgi ves us ei ght hour s. At Ti ar o gi ves us an ei ght hour under -under normal ci r cumst ances gi ves us an ei ght hour wi ndow t o beabl e to get out .

And t he r eadi ng t hat was t he war ni ng bef or e, sor r y, t he


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warni ng i mmedi atel y bef ore that at 2. 25 p. m. di d not have ar eadi ng?- - Fr om Ti ar o?

Hang on. Let me j ust check t hat . I f t her e was no r eadi ngf r om Ti ar o f or t hat t i me t hen obvi ousl y that al so i mpact edyour abi l i t y t o r espond?- - For sur e.

And, agai n, someone hadn' t communi cat ed t hat r eadi ng t hen t heBOM coul dn' t post i t ?- - So my poi nt t o you i s t hat we need anaut omat ed i ndi cat or at Ti ar o so t hat t he t el emet r y t hen i scont i nui ng down t hat r i ver .

We' ve j ust hear d f r om Mr Wode t hat he t hought - and I don' thave i nst r uct i ons on t hi s so I ' m j ust aski ng your vi ew abouti t , t hat i t ' s an al er t system, not a manual gauge at Ti ar o?- -We need t o know what - what t he r i ver ' s doi ng at Ti aro.


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11102011 D46 T4 HCL QUEENSLAND FLOODS COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

XN: MS McLEOD 3968 WI T: BROWN W H

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But you don' t know whether i t i s an al er t or manual syst em?- -I have no i dea.

Okay. As you say i n your st at ement , your i ssue i s not wi t ht he accur acy of t he r ai nf al l pr edi ct i ons, but t he del ay i n

get t i ng t hose f l ood post i ngs?- - For sur e. You can' t havet hi ngs t hat ar e 12 hour s ol d. I f you have a l ook at t hecompl et e r eport , some of t he i ndi cator s are up t o 12 hour sol d. You can' t do t hat dur i ng a f l ood event , and t hat ' s wher ei t has t o be al l up t o dat e. We r el y heavi l y on t hatpar t i cul ar t el emet r y t o be abl e t o sal vage our - what we havei s al l of our asset s.

And you woul d accept t hat t he Bureau depends on t hose who ar emeant t o be r eadi ng t he gauges and passi ng on t hati nf or mat i on?- - Wel l , most of t hem have made i t t hr ough- - - - -

For t he manual ones?- - For t he manual ones, yes, and I t hi nki t i s up t o t he Bur eau t o make sure i t i s manned dur i ng af l ood t i me. And i t wasn' t as i f i t was i n t he mi ddl e of J unewher e we had 300 mm of r ai n as an event t hat come out of t hebl ue. I t had been r ai ni ng si nce J anuar y 1.

Wel l , you have i ndi cat ed t hat you t hi nk i t i s up t o t he Bur eaut o make sur e t hey are manned. Can I suggest t o you i t i s nota Bur eau i ssue about who mans t hem; t hey are owned andoperated by somebody el se?- - I t doesn' t mat t er t o me who t heyare owned and operated by. The BOM si t e put s t he warni ngsout , and at t he end of t he day I don' t car e who i s r esponsi bl ef or i t , but whoever i s r esponsi bl e f or i t shoul d be doi ng i t

because someone - we were l ucky we di dn' t l ose any l i ves her e.We wer e mor e f or t unat e t han l ucky t hat nobody was hur t mor et han cut s and br ui ses, and t o me i t i s i mpor t ant .

Thanks, Mr Br own.

MR ROLLS: No quest i ons of Mr Br own, t hank you, Commi ssi oner .

MR CALLAGHAN: I have no quest i ons. May Mr Br own be excused?

COMMI SSI ONER: Thanks ver y much, Mr Br own. You ar e excused.

WI TNESS EXCUSED

COMMI SSI ONER: Ms McLeod, wi l l t he Bureau be provi di ng somei nf or mat i on about t he st at e of af f ai r s wi t h t he gauges?

MS McLEOD: We have al r eady pr ovi ded t o t he Commi ssi on abundl e of mat er i al back bef or e we st ar t ed t he f i r st r ound,whi ch i ncl udes t he maps t hat Mr Wode ref er r ed t o, and asummary of t he f l oods, t he hei ght s and so on. But we can

cer t ai nl y do an updat e and cr oss- r ef er ence agai nst t he t hi ngs


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t hat ar e bei ng sai d her e.

COMMI SSI ONER: Thank you. Yes, Ms Kef f ord? I am l ooki ng att he t i me woul d t hat be a conveni ent t i me?

MS KEFFORD: Woul d t hat be conveni ent ?

COMMI SSI ONER: We wi l l come back at 25 t o.

THE COMMI SSI ON ADJ OURNED AT 11. 22 A. M.


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XN: MS KEFFORD 3970 WI T: WI LSON K M

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COMMI SSI ONER: Yes, Ms Kef f or d?

MS KEFFORD: Madam Commi ss i oner , I cal l Kathl een Wi l son.

KATHLEEN MARY WI LSON, ON AFFI RMATI ON, EXAMI NED:

MS KEFFORD: I s your f ul l name Kathl een Mary Wi l son?- - Yes.

You provi ded a st at ement t o t he Queensl and Fl oods Commi ssi onof I nqui r y. Can I get you t o have a l ook at t hi s document ,pl ease? I s t hat a copy of your st at ement wi t h annexur es?- -

Yes, i t i s.

I t ender t hat document .



MS KEFFORD: Ms Wi l son, you r esi de i n a l ow- set house si t uat ed

at 43 Shel l cot St r eet , Toogoom?- - Uh- huh.

And you bui l t t hat house i n 1985, i s t hat cor r ect ?- - Yes,correct.

And at t he t i me of const r uct i ng t he house was t here any ot herr esi dent i al devel opment i n t he ar ea?- - Yes, t her e was, butnobody ei t her si de of me. Ther e wasn' t a l ot i n t he st r eet .

Was t here anyt hi ng behi nd you?- - Nothi ng. Onl y beaut i f ulbushl and. That ' s al l .

Can you descr i be t o us t he l evel of your l and at t he t i me thatyou bought i t i n compar i son t o t he l and sur r oundi ng i t ?- - Thebushl and went a l i t t l e bi t l ower t han t he nat ur al sur f acel evel , my l and, because I di dn' t bui l d my l and up at al l .Ot her t han l ater we di d because f l oodwat er s had r i sen upagai n. We had a f l ood i n about 1990 and t he f l oodwatersact ual l y di d come up t o t he backyard about t wo i nches up t hebackyar d. Fol l owi ng t hat we di d br i ng i n t r uckl oads of soi lt o f i l l so that t hi s woul d never happen agai n and - yeah.

So when was t hat ?- - That was about 1990, and when we f i l l edt he backyar d, t he nat ur al bushl and was l ower . So i t shoul dnever have f l ooded agai n. And t he bl ocks besi de me were t he

same l evel as mi ne, and so act ual l y, you know, mi ne mi ght have


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been a l i t t l e bi t hi gher i n t he back because t hei r s seemed t obe bui l t up maybe a l i t t l e bi t . So t hi s shoul d never havehappened agai n.

I n around 1990 when you f i l l ed t o pr event f l ood happeni ngagai n, at t hat poi nt i n t i me wher e was t he wat er comi ng f r om?Was i t comi ng f r om t he bushl and at t he back or - - - - - ?- - Yes,

I ' d say i t most pr obabl y was, mmm.

I n paragr aph 4 of your st atement you say t hat on pur chasi ngt he l and you di dn' t r eal i se t hat t he pr oper t y woul d be subj ectt o f l oodi ng. Was t her e any sear ches t hat you di d at t hat t i met o ascer t ai n whet her i t woul d be subj ect t o f l oodi ng?- - No, Idon' t t hi nk we even t hought about i t because sandy soi l , yout hi nk i t woul d j ust go t hr ough t he sand, and i t i s ver y cl oset o t he beach. Coul dn' t i magi ne i t f l oodi ng, act ual l y.

Now, i n t he r ecent J anuar y 2011 f l oods, di d your pr oper t yf l ood?- - Oh, yes, i t di d.

And do you have a vi ew as t o why your pr oper t y f l ooded?- - Ido. Because t here was a new devel opment , al l t he beaut i f ulbushl and was knocked down behi nd and a new devel opment wasbui l t and t hey r ai sed t hat soi l up about a met r e hi gher t hanwhat t he bushl and woul d have been. And al so I have gotnei ghbour s down besi de me and t hei r l and i s hi gher t han mi ne.

They l evel l ed t hei r s up hi gher t han mi ne.

I f I coul d show you an aer i al phot ogr aph and i f you coul dexpl ai n t o us wher e some of t hese f eat ur es ar e wi t h r ef er encet o t hat aer i al phot ogr aph? Now, i n t hat phot ogr aph, i s yourpr oper t y t he one- - - - - ?- - Wi t h t he X.

- - - - - wi t h t he X i n t he cent r e of t he bl ack ci r cl e?- - Yes.

Wher e had t he - wher e was t he ar ea t hat was previ ousl yf orest ed and now devel oped?- - Wel l , between my pl ace wi t h t heX and Cast away Cour t , t hat was - oh, and r i ght up i t wasf orest r i ght up t o O' Regan Cr eek Road, and t hat was al lbeaut i f ul and nat ur al f or est . Ri ght behi nd me, di r ect l ybehi nd me, t he f or est was - f or est l and st ar t ed.

And do you know what t he - can you see t hat t here i s a t hi nar ea whi ch has a sor t of r ed st r i pe acr oss i t ?- - Yes.

Do you know what t hat - - - - - ?- - Wel l , t hat ' s- - - - -

- - - - - i ndi cat es?- - That ' s a dr ai n easement .

Dr ai nage easement ?- - Dr ai nage easement . I t i s an easementwi t h no dr ai n i n i t . I t shoul d have a dr ai n i n i t because i fi t had a dr ai n i n i t we woul d not be f l ooded at al l becauset he dr ai n - t he water woul d j ust be taken away t o wherever i ti s supposed t o be dr ai ned t o.

When you say ther e i s no dr ai n i n i t , so t her e i s no pi pe?- -No.


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And i n t hat l ocat i on i s t her e a di p i n t he l and at al l ?- -Ver y sl i ght . Ver y, ver y, ver y sl i ght . Yep.

And i n your st atement you t al k about a concern t hat t here' sbeen some Bl ueScope St eel f ences whi ch have been const r uct edacr oss t he easement / dr ai n?- - Mmm.

Ar e t hose f ences acr oss t hat r ed hat ched ar ea?- - Yes, t hey gor i ght acr oss r i ght t o t he boundar y f ence of ol d Shel l cotSt r eet back f ence.

You descr i be t hem as bei ng const r uct ed t o ground l evel . Whatdo you mean by t hat ?- - Wel l , t hey' r e r i ght down t o t hegr ound. Ther e i s no way - i f t her e i s a dr ai n or an opendr ai n, t her e woul d be no way t he water coul d f l ow t hr oughbecause t hey ar e bl ocked wi t h t hi s f ence t hat goes r i ght downt o t he gr ound.

And was t here any wat er - so t hat woul d pr event wat erf l owi ng?- - Oh, def i ni t el y.

Under neat h t he f ence, obvi ousl y?- - Oh, def i ni t el y becauset her e i s nowher e f or i t t o go. I t i s t r apped. Al l t hewat er ' s t r apped.

Does t hat pot ent i al l y save your pr oper t y f r om wat er f l owi ngunder neat h t he f ence f r om t he nei ghbour i ng pr oper t y t o t her ear , or i s i t t r appi ng t he wat er on your si de of t he f ence,do you bel i eve?- - I t woul d go t hr ough. I t woul d go t hr ought he pi cket f ence, t he wat er f r om my backyar d, i f t her e was apr oper dr ai n put i n t he gr ound, but maybe i t woul d over t het op i t woul d f l ow out , I woul dn' t have a pr obl em. Ther e

woul dn' t be any pr obl em f or mysel f and ot her r esi dent s i nShel l cot , but t he dr ai n' s not t her e. They di dn' t put t hedr ai n i n and I don' t know why. They shoul d have.

And so t hat ' s obvi ousl y one of your concer ns. I s your ot herconcer n r el at ed t o t he f ence?- - Yes, and t he f ence - wel l ,t hey shoul d have a bi g gap i n t he f ence somehow. You have gott o be abl e t o l et t he wat er f l ow t hr ough but i f t hey di d havea pr oper dr ai n i n t he gr ound wi t h a gr i d over t he t op t hat l ett he water go thr ough, maybe they coul d l eave t he f ence t here.

That ' s what I need, i s a drai n so wat er can escape.

Thank you, I have no f ur t her quest i ons.

MS McLEOD: No quest i ons, t hank you.

MR ROLLS: No quest i ons, Commi ssi oner , t hank you.

MS KEFFORD: I have no f ur t her quest i ons. I shoul d, however ,t ender t he aer i al phot ogr aph.

COMMI SSI ONER: I t wi l l be Exhi bi t 786.



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MS KEFFORD: Mi ght t hi s wi t ness be excused?

COMMI SSI ONER: Yes. Thanks ver y much, Ms Wi l son, you ar eexcused.

WI TNESS EXCUSED

MR CALLAGHAN: Madam Commi ss i oner , j ust bef ore I cal l t he nextwi t ness, i n t he i nt er est s of gi vi ng af f ect ed par t i es as muchnot i ce as possi bl e, we ar e schedul ed t o si t i n Gympi et omor r ow. The st ar t i ng t i me I t hi nk has been publ i shed asbei ng 10 a. m. , but mi ght i t be conveni ent f or t he Commi ssi ont o commence at 9. 30 i n Gympi e t omor r ow?

COMMI SSI ONER: Wi l l t hat sui t you?

MS McLEOD: That wi l l sui t , Madam Commi ss i oner .

MR ROLLS: I t won' t cause me any i nconveni ence.

COMMI SSI ONER: Al l r i ght .

MR CALLAGHAN: There are some ot her par t i es t hat aren' tpr esent - - - - -

COMMI SSI ONER: Let t hem know st r ai ght away and i f t here i s apr obl em t here we mi ght have t o adj ust .

MR CALLAGHAN: I cal l Pet er Care.


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PETER WI LLI AM CARE, SWORN AND EXAMI NED:

MR CALLAGHAN: Coul d you t el l t he Commi ssi on your f ul l nameand occupat i on, pl ease?- - My name i s Pet er Wi l l i am Car e and Iam t he Chi ef Oper at i ng Of f i cer f or Wi de Bay Wat er Cor por at i on.

Mr Care, you have pr ovi ded a st atement t o t he Commi ss i on. I ti s dat ed 14 Sept ember 2011 and has 12 annexur es, i s t hatcor r ect ?- - That ' s cor r ect.

I wi l l show you t hi s. That ' s your s t at ement and annexur es?- -Yes, i t appears so, yes.

I t ender t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: Mr Car e, Wi de Bay Wat er i s t he owner andoper at or of Lent hal l s Dam - how i s i t pr onounced? I s i tLent hal l s?- - Lent hal l s Dam i s t he t er m.

And Wi de Bay Wat er owns and operat es i t ?- - I t owns andoper at es i t , yes.

The Commi ssi on' s at t ent i on has been drawn t o t hi s dampr i nci pal l y, I t hi nk, because of t he oper at i on or not of t hecr est gat es. You ar e awar e of t hat ?- - I am awar e of t hat ,yes.

I s i t t he case t hat i n Febr uar y 2007 t he f ul l suppl y l evel oft he dam was i ncr eased by t he i nst al l at i on of f i ve cr estgat es?- - I t was, yes.

Was t he concept of backf l ow dur i ng a f l ood event consi der eddur i ng t he pr ocess of deci di ng t o r ai se t he dam st or agecapaci t y?- - Al t hough I wasn' t i nvol ved i n t hatdeci si on- maki ng pr ocess of usi ng t he cr est gat es, one of t hepr i mar y r easons f or ut i l i si ng cr est gat es was t o pr event backf l ood t o pr oper t i es.

And was t here t hen a cont i ngency consi derat i on gi ven t o t heconcept of gat e f ai l ur e?- - Gat e f ai l ur e was r evi ewed as par tof t he pr ocesses i nvol ved i n desi gni ng t he gat e - sor r y, i nt he deci si on pr ocess t o i mpl ement t he gat es, and par t of t hatpr ocess was t o l ook at t he r i sk i mpact s of f ai l ur e of t hegates and that was under t aken by SunWater pr oj ect s as par t oft he deci si on- maki ng pr ocess.

The gates ar e desi gned t o f unct i on automat i cal l y, i s

t hat - - - - - ?- - That ' s cor r ect. I n t he event of a f l ood event ,


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t he gat es syst emat i cal l y ar e desi gned t o open wi t h t he f i r stgate openi ng when t he water l evel ' s 150 mi l l i met r es above thet op gat e l evel .

Whi ch i s?- - Whi ch i s RL26.

The gates can al so be oper at ed manual l y?- - Each of t he f l ood

gates has a manual val ve to manual l y open t hose val ves f ort est i ng pur poses and al so anyt hi ng t hat we wi sh t o l ower wat erl evel s i n advance of t he nor mal oper at i ng l evel s of t he gat es.

Ar e t her e any ot her - i f I can t ake you t o par agr aphs 35 t o 37of your st atement ? You have r ef er r ed t o t he mai nt enance oft he gat es?- - That ' s cor r ect .

I t i s t he case t hat cr est gat es have never been added t o anexi st i ng dam as f ar as you ar e awar e, i s t hat r i ght ?- - As f aras we' r e awar e t he crest gate concept was act ual l y devel opedi n Sout h Af r i ca and pr i or t o i nst al l at i on of t he Lent hal l s Damcr est , t her e has onl y ever been i nst al l ed i n Sout h Af r i ca andhas onl y ever been i nst al l ed as par t of an or i gi nal damdevel opment r at her t han post const r uct i on, as our s has been.

J ust t urni ng t hen t o t he t opi c of mai nt enance whi ch youaddr ess i n paragr aphs 35 t o 37, you say t hat oper at i onalmai nt enance i s under t aken annual l y at t he t i me of t he f i r stspr i ng r ai ns. Fi r st of al l , what ar e t hey? I s t hat t he f i r stt i me i t r ai ns i n t he spr i ngt i me?- - No. Ef f ect i vel y, t hemai nt enance pr ocess i s act ual l y undert aken i n about Oct oberor November each year so we' r e ef f ect i vel y sayi ng i n t hatspr i ng per i od pr i or t o t he summer , r ai nf al l event s -hi st or i cal l y we know t hat r ai nf al l event s i n our cat chment ,

t he chance of excessi ve r ai nf al l f r om Oct ober onwar ds - t heend of Oct ober onwar ds.

You don' t act ual l y wai t f or i t t o r ai n?- - No, no. We uset hat t er m but , you know - i t i s a t er m t hat we use but ,ef f ect i vel y, we l i ke t o have t hat wor k under t aken ar ound aboutt he end of Oct ober .

I s t hat t he onl y t i me each year t hat t est i ng and mai nt enancei s car r i ed out ?- - I t i s f ol l owi ng t he oper at i on andmai ntenance manual s and st andar d operat i ng procedur es t hatwer e devel oped f or t he dam.

Wel l , at t hat t i me you do t est t he capaci t y of t he gat es t oopen and cl ose, i s t hat r i ght ?- - Cor r ect . We go t hr ough anumber of pr ocesses t o cl ear t he ai r vent i ng syst em and t hegate pi pe wor k al ong wi t h openi ng and cl osi ng of each of t hei ndi vi dual gat es.

And i f a gat e i sn' t wor ki ng as i t i s meant t o dur i ng t heset est s - we wi l l come t o speci f i c exampl es of t hat - but i st her e a r out i ne or a pr ocedur e t hat i s t o be i mpl ement ed i fsuch a def ect i s r eveal ed dur i ng mai nt enance? I s t her e ar epor t or somet hi ng- - - - - ?- - We have a pr ocess t hat wasdevel oped by t he gat e desi gners, GHD, whi ch we under t ake

dur i ng t he test i ng pr ocedur es, and i n t he case of l ast year we


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had one gate t hat di dn' t open as i t was desi gned t o do and weused exter nal hydr aul i c f or ce t o act ual l y open t hat gat e.

I wi l l come t o t hat i n a moment . What I was pr obabl y get t i ngat was whet her any r el evant di f f i cul t i es dur i ng t hemai ntenance process are communi cat ed t o anyone, such as t hel ocal counci l , or DERM, or anyt hi ng l i ke t hat ?- - No, no, t hey

don' t .

We mi ght j ust get an over vi ew of t he way t he t hi ngs have gonesi nce Febr uar y 2007. That was when t hey wer e i nst al l ed, i st hat r i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect . Const r uct i on wor ks had beencompl et ed.

Ther e was a r ai nf al l event i n Febr uary of 2008 when t he gatesshoul d have opened aut omat i cal l y?- - That ' s cor r ect .

But di d not ?- - That was t he f i r st f l ood event af t er postconst r uct i on and i t was our f i r st oppor t uni t y t o act ual l yhopef ul l y see t he gat es wor k, but , i n ef f ect , t he gat es di dnot oper at e dur i ng t hat event .

Was t her e an ef f ect upst r eam as a resul t of t hat f l oodi ng?- -Ther e was f l oodi ng upst r eam or t here was i nundat i on upst r eamof t he cat chment , yes.

Agai n, i n t er ms of communi cat i ons, do you know - I appr eci at eyou may not have been there, but do you know what agenci es ori ndi vi dual s wer e not i f i ed?- - I per sonal l y wasn' t i nvol ved i nt he oper at i ons of t he dams at t hat poi nt i n t i me, al t hough Idi d pr ovi de engi neer i ng suppor t t o t he oper at or s. Iper sonal l y cont act ed t he dam saf et y r egul at or and I bel i eve

cont act was made wi t h the pr oper t y owners at t hat t i me aswel l , t oo, upst r eam.

I n paragr aph 44 of your st atement , you say t hat t he EmergencyAct i on Pl an and t he operat i on and mai nt enance manual were i ndr af t f or m at t hi s t i me. Why onl y i n dr af t , do you know?- -We had r ecei ved a condi t i on schedul e f r om t he dam saf et yr egul at or and we wer e f ol l owi ng t hat document and pr ovi di ngt he rel at i ve document wi t hi n t he t i me- f r ames t hat wer ei dent i f i ed, and at t hat poi nt i n t i me t hose document s wer eonl y i n dr af t f orm. They had not been pr ovi ded t hr ough t o t hedam saf et y r egul at or .

By what t i me wer e t hey r equi r ed t o be f i nal i sed?- - I woul dhave t o l ook back t hr ough t he condi t i ons schedul e, but Ibel i eve i t was November of t hat year .

And was i t i n f act - wer e t hey i n f act - wer e t hose document sf i nal i sed by November ?- - I bel i eve so. As I sai d, I wasn' tact ual l y i nvol ved i n put t i ng t hose document s t oget her , but Ibel i eve t hey were.

At t hat t i me, t he Emer gency Act i on Pl an had no pr ovi si on f orcont act of upst r eam or downst r eam l andhol der s, i s t hatr i ght ?- - Look, I coul dn' t comment . I wasn' t par t of t he

pr ocess of devel opi ng t he document , so I - sor r y, I don' t know


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t he answer t o t hat .

Ther e was anot her event i n May/ J une 2008 when t he gates di dnot operate as desi gned. Once agai n, I t hi nk you addr ess thati n par agr aphs 60 t o 64, i s t hat r i ght ?- - Yes, t hat ' s cor r ect .

And so i n response t o t hese event s, Wi de Bay Wat er

commi ss i oned GHD t o compl ete a number of i nvest i gat i ons?- -Those i nvest i gat i ons r eal l y had commenced af t er t he Febr uaryevent .

Ri ght ?- - And f l owed on t o t he May/ J une event as wel l , t oo,wher e basi cal l y t he desi gn t hat t hey pr ovi ded t o us had notworked and we were endeavour i ng t o f i nd a sol ut i on.

Wel l , t her e was - you r ecei ved a r epor t by GHD t i t l ed"Lent hal l s Dam Fl ood Dr af t Repor t , Febr uar y 2009" , i s t hatr i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect , yes.

I mi ght t ender t hat . I wi l l show you t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: And we' r e pi cki ng up here on paragraph 51 ofyour st at ement , i s t hat r i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect , yes.

And j ust above t hat , i n par agr aph 49, you r ef er t o or i dent i f y" t wo upst r eam l andhol der s ar e i mpact ed by t he event s of t hedam" . That ' s t he Al l en f ami l y and Mr Nei l sen, i s t hatr i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect .

Now, i n essence, t hi s r epor t f ound t hat , due t o t he f ai l ur e oft he gat es, Li nt el Waters backed up al ong t he upst r eamt r i but ar y, i s t hat r i ght ?- - That ' s cor r ect .

And t hat r esul t ed i n some resi dent s bei ng st r anded - somel andhol der s?- - Access t o pr oper t i es was compr omi sed, yes.

Okay. Al l r i ght . GHD f ound t hat t he l i kel y cause of t hegat es' f ai l ur e, you say i n par agr aph 46, was excessi vepr essur e of t he gat e seal s whi ch pr event ed t hem f r om dr oppi ngdur i ng a f l ood event . Now, I have l ooked at t he r epor t . Isuspect , wi t h t he except i on of Deput y Commi ss i oner Cummi ns, i ti s pr obabl y not t hat accessi bl e t o most of us. I s i t possi bl et o gi ve an easi l y i nt er pr et ed expl anat i on as t o what t hepr obl em i s?- - The pr obl em i dent i f i ed f r om t he 2008 event s wast hat t he act ual seal s t hemsel ves wer e pr event i ng t he gat esl ower i ng. Basi cal l y, t he way t he gat es oper at e i s that wehave a - t he gates t hemsel ves have a seal whi ch basi cal l ypr event s wat er l eaki ng out of t he gat e or l eaki ng besi de t hegat e. I t was GHD' s det er mi nat i on - or t he desi gner s of t he

gat es' det er mi nat i on was basi cal l y t hat t he seal was t oo


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ef f i ci ent i n seal i ng t he gat e and t he l oads on t he gat es i n af l ood event wer e pr event i ng t he gat e f r om l ower i ng.

That does hel p. We mi ght show you t hat r epor t . I t wascompl et ed i n 2008. That ' s t he r epor t , do you agr ee?- - That ' st he r epor t , yes.

I t ender t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: So was that at t ended t o t hen, f ol l owi ng t hatr epor t ?- - Yes.

That i ssue wi t h t he seal ?- - Yes, f ol l owi ng t he seal -f ol l owi ng t he r epor t f r om GHD, we moved ahead wi t hmodi f i cat i ons t o t he seal s i n t he gat es. Those wor ks wer eunder t aken and compl et ed i n 2009. I t hi nk i t was ar oundabout Febr uar y 2009. And we used t he r ecommendat i ons f r om t heGHD r epor t t o undert ake t hat pr oj ect .

And- - - - - ?- - We engaged t he same const r uct or t hat had beeni nvol ved i n t he const r uct i on of t he gat es t o under t ake t hosewor ks f or us.

Di d t hat i mpr ove t hi ngs?- - Wel l , we wer en' t t o know unt i l t he

next f l ood event , whi ch i s t he unf or t unat e si t uat i on - t hatunl ess we have a f l ood event , we don' t know whether t hey ar egoi ng t o wor k. Unf or t unat el y, we di dn' t have anot her f l oodevent unt i l 2010.

I see. I mi ght j ust get a coupl e of ot her document s. Ther ewas a f ur t her r eport of Mar ch 2009, agai n a GHD r epor t , t hewet t est i ng pr ocedur e r epor t , and another - we mi ght do one ata t i me. You ar e awar e of t hat one?- - I am awar e of t hat ,yes.

What ' s meant by wet t est i ng?- - The wet t est i ng r epor t was ar epor t t hat was put t ogether by GHD t o enabl e us t o t est t hegat es af t er t he seal adj ust ment s and modi f i cat i ons had beenmade. So i t i s a pr ocess t hat we had t o under t ake t obasi cal l y i dent i f y any ot her pr obl ems wi t h t he gat es and t ot r ust t o be abl e t o oper at e t he gat es under t her ecommendat i ons.

As you j ust sai d, t hough, unl ess you get annual f l ood?- -Wel l , we wer en' t t est i ng t hem i n a f l ood event . We wer et est i ng t hem i n a dr y si t uat i on. Ef f ecti vel y we coul dn' t t esti n a f l ood event because we woul d need a f l ood t o do so. Sowe t est ed t hem i n a si t uat i on whi ch was ut i l i si ng manualopeni ng of t he gat es.


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Whi ch j ust happens t o be cal l ed t he wet t est i ng pr ocedur e?- -I t i s - wet t est i ng t he gat es i s t he f r ame t hat was used, yes;unf or t unat el y not a f l ood event .

I t ender t hat .



MR CALLAGHAN: As you say, you di dn' t get anot her f l ood

Extract from QLD flood commission Peter Care Wide Bay Water Lenthalls Dam Gate Failure Transcript of...

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Transcript of Extract from QLD flood commission Peter Care Wide Bay Water Lenthalls Dam Gate Failure Transcript of...