New innovative system for early flood warning

An innovative system developed through a Tamworth Regional Council-led project will give residents of Nundle and Woolomin earlier flood warning notice. Tamworth Regional Council and the NSW State Emergency Service Western Region has worked with consultants Water Technology Pty Ltd and the Bureau of Meteorology over the last year to develop the Flood Early Warning System.

The project was jointly funded by Council, the NSW Government and the Australian Government under the Natural Disaster Resilience Program.

Tamworth Regional Council Manager Strategy, Assets and Design, Graeme McKenzie said the system is the first of its type in the NSW State Emergency Service Western Region.

“The system uses flow monitoring in creeks and rivers in conjunction with predicted rainfall from the Bureau of Meteorology to identify the risk of flooding and the possible magnitude of the flooding,” he said. “The SES and Council will receive automated alerts and the Woolomin and Nundle communities will benefit significantly through improved flood management and earlier warning of flood events in the upper reaches of the Peel Catchment.’’

Tamworth Regional Council stormwater engineer Aidan Pugh said the key to the new system was the addition of a river gauge in Duncans Creek.

“With Woolomin being at the junction of the Peel River and Duncans Creek, flooding of Woolomin can occur from either source,” he said. “The installation of the gauge provides real time monitoring of flows – this has not been available for the SES or Council before.

“The remainder of the system is the really clever bit which uses the predicted rainfall and actual rainfall to allow early warning in relation to possible flooding.”

Residents of Nundle and Woolomin have been invited to a community information session tomorrow at Woolomin Community Hall from 10.30am to learn more about the Flood Early Warning System and have the chance to increase their knowledge of flood in Woolomin. They will also be encouraged to sign-up to receive SMS notifications to ensure they are better prepared for moderate or major flooding.

“It has been some years since a significant flood in Woolomin but it is critical for residents to be prepared,” Mr Pugh said. “There is some likelihood that a significant percentage of the Woolomin Community will have no knowledge of flood history of Woolomin and what they need to know in relation to a flood event – all that information will be at Saturday’s community event.”

Residents of Woolomin and Nundle are also being asked to complete an SES survey about flood risks in their community. It can be found at: www.haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/flood-early-warning-system.