2016-07-18 General Committee Meeting - Item 3 - Attachment 1 - Flood Management Plan

7.2 Flood Gauges                                                                    7.2.2         Radio Telemetry Gauges




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To improve the confidence in flood records Council has                              Radio telemetry gauges (also referred to as ALERT stations)




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established a network of flood gauges throughout the                                utilise sensors and electronic systems to continuously




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major waterways of the area. Council manages two types                              measure water levels and rainfall and transmit these
of flood gauges; these being: Maximum Height Gauges                                 readings in real-time to a stakeholder organisation via
(MHGs) and Radio Telemetry Gauges.                                                  radio signals.

7.2.1         Maximum Height Gauges                                                 The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) in partnership with
                                                                                    Noosa Council and other State agencies maintain and
Maximum Height Gauges (MHGs) are simple peak water                                  operate a network of ALERT rainfall and river height
level recording stations located throughout the region                              gauges throughout the Noosa Council local government
close to waterways. Noosa Council currently manages                                 area. These rainfall and river height stations are used for
46 MHGs. During times of inundation water surrounds                                 flood warning and forecasting operations in the Bureau’s
the MHG and fills the inside of the gauge via small holes                           Flood Warning Centre located in Brisbane and are also
drilled into the base of the gauge outer housing. When the                          monitored locally to assist with disaster management
flood waters recede from around the gauge water remains                             activities during flood events.
trapped in the cups up to the peak level reached. This
water will remain in the gauge for 2-3 weeks depending                              There are currently eight water level ALERT stations and
upon evaporation. These water levels are recorded during                            12 rainfall ALERT stations. Some stations monitor both
an inspection of the gauge following a flood event. MHGs                            rainfall and water levels whilst others may only monitor
have no moving parts or electrical circuits and hence                               either rainfall or water level.
offer a robust and reliable means of accurately recording
the peak flood level for a given location. Some periodic
maintenance is required to ensure the MHGs remain
functional and accessible.




Rainfall and water level data is collected by stakeholder organisations via the BoM’s Enviromon software.




                                                                                                            Noosa Council | Flood Management Plan | Page 26