2018-05-14 GC Agenda Attachment 1 to Item 6 Lake MacDonald Dr Community Reference Group Investigations Report

9. Six Mile Creek Flood Warning Stations
Until recently, there were no automatic water level gauges upstream of Highland Drive to provide
continuous records of the rise and fall of flood waters within the local waterways. However, through
the course of this project Council has been successful in applying for a funding subsidy through the
Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DILGP) for the supply and
installation of 6 new flood warning stations. Three of these new stations are located upstream of
Highland Drive.

The flood warning stations measure rainfall at the station and water levels in an adjacent
waterway. The records are transmitted via radio frequencies to data collection points at the Council
Chambers in Tewantin and to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) in Brisbane. After data is received
from a station it is translated into either a rainfall depth or water level. Data is recorded and sent
from the stations as it happens providing real time observations of rainfall and flooding conditions
at these locations.

The new flood warning stations positioned upstream of Highland Drive at located at:
    •   Garnet Street Cooroy

    •   Elm St, Cooroy – between the road and rail line; and

    •   Liane Drive, Lake MacDonald. (Refer to Image 7-1)

In addition to providing real-time observations of conditions the recorded data from these stations
provides a historical reference of rainfall and water level responses for the catchment which can be
later used to continue to improve the understanding of catchments and floodplains. Over time, after
more significant flood events have been recorded, Council may use these records to once again
review and improve the calibration of a flood model.




Image 7-4: Liane Drive Flood Warning Station

Lake McDonald Flooding Community Reference Group Report                                       Page 37