In April 2011 I wrote the opinion piece Queensland floods: information, history and knowledge to highlight how the January 2011 floods in South East Queensland had their historical precedents, in the hope of encouraging the better use of historical information in flood risk planning.
That eastern Australia has experienced devastating floods in January 2013, just two years after the horrors of January 2011, comes to me as no surprise. These floods are not extraordinary or unexpected events. Rather, they are a normal part of the considerable climatic variability experienced in eastern Australia. Read the rest of this entry »
In May 2009 the Australian Government announced up to $77.4 million of funding for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Recovery Program (HNRRP), and I commenced work as Program Manager in June 2009. I concluded the HNRRP at the end of 2011, with the program exceeding its intended outcomes and finishing on time and under budget. The HNRRP has improved river health by making more water available for environmental flows and reducing nutrient inputs to the river system.
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The coincidence of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry and Information Awareness Month offers the opportunity to explore how well our communities are using information and knowledge in regard to natural disasters. The purpose of Information Awareness Month is to increase public awareness of information and its place in all aspects of daily life.
In early January this year the media carried horrific images and stories of the loss of life and damage caused by flooding in the southern Queensland towns of Toowoomba and Grantham and in the cities of Brisbane and Ipswich. Surprise was expressed at how such severe events could have happened. But the reality is that these floods have their predecessors. Read the rest of this entry »
In response to the New South Wales (NSW) Government Metropolitan Water Plan the NSW Department of Natural Resources coordinated the development of new environmental flow rules for the Shoalhaven River downstream of Tallowa Dam. The approach taken to determine the environmental flow requirements for the Shoalhaven River downstream of Tallowa Dam involved assessing the water needs of the river’s complete ecosystem, including its main river channel, river banks, estuary and important ecological features, such as rare and endangered species. Read the rest of this entry »