Wivenhoe Dam Release

[Oh Gee]

What effects would be expected from the planned release from Wivenhoe Dam?

Will it be the warmer top water or would it come from the colder bottom of the lake?

What will it do to the fresh water fishing downstream?

What about the extra fresh water flowing out through the lower tidal reaches and into the bay?

Wouldn't Sun Water or whoever looks after the water need an Enviromental Impact Statement before they release the water?

I'm not wanting to hit the hornets nest with a stick but just a few questions I thought of.

[Crestcutter]

One question i thought of if they are going to waste the water, why not give unrestrictions to all rather, than give it then charge the peeps.

Surely some people could do with the water after the floods, and it would only take the water meters to be read and altered accordingly.

Sorry to go off track mate.

[PinHead]

the Minister is so wonderful Darryl..she has said we can use all the water we want for about 10 days..but wait..we still have to pay for the water we use. What a joke.

[Gon Fishun]

the Minister is so wonderful Darryl..she has said we can use all the water we want for about 10 days..but wait..we still have to pay for the water we use. What a joke.

If were smart, we could take a reading from our water meters before and after, and tell the council to bash it. Or send the bill to the Minister.

[rando]

What effects would be expected from the planned release from Wivenhoe Dam?

Will it be the warmer top water or would it come from the colder bottom of the lake?

What will it do to the fresh water fishing downstream?

What about the extra fresh water flowing out through the lower tidal reaches and into the bay?

Wouldn't Sun Water or whoever looks after the water need an Enviromental Impact Statement before they release the water?

I'm not wanting to hit the hornets nest with a stick but just a few questions I thought of.

There is a growing awareness that pulses of increased flow are as beneficial to native freshwater species as a full flood.
I think I remember reading that such pulses can trigger spawning as readily as a full on "banker",,, I wonder if that effect holds true for estuarine species???

[fisho8]

Labour Goverment you gotta love them they have done wonders for our state and territory that is why they are called Labour because you have to work your ass off to pay for water and now the carbon Tax which will mean rises in everything basically that party name really suits them. What a joke. Thieving pricks.

[Scalem]

the Minister is so wonderful Darryl..she has said we can use all the water we want for about 10 days..but wait..we still have to pay for the water we use. What a joke.

Greg, the water we use does not bypass filtration and treatment which costs money... But all the other costs we have to absorb I'm not too happy about such as all the extra bores they sunk when we were in drought, and desalination plants that cost millions....Isn't that why we still have to pay the ever increasing rates despite the fact our Dams are full??

Scalem

[honda900]

Scalem,

lets not forget the entire goverment department that was created to manage the water who has now spent multi millions and no longer has the support of any of the councils, and the multi millions it will cost to put it all back in place as it was..

Anna, Julia, dont let the door slam behind you and your cronies on your way out..

Regards
HOnda.

[Mike Delisser]

The fishing in the lower Bris river went bad the last time we had planned releases (about 3 times as much water that time though), it was dirty for a couple of weeks and picked up again in around 3 weeks. In the long run it will be good for the river but I recon in 5 years we'll wish we still had that water in the dam.
This release of water from Wivenhoe really has nothing to do with the relaxing of water restrictions. 1 is for risk management of the dam and it's flood capacity, the other is a PR exersise because people read in the paper that the water is going to be released. If everyone in Brisbane used 5 times their usual amount of water this weekend it would only be about 2% of the water about to be released from Wivenhoe.

[PinHead]

big rains coming so they say...drain the dams. And on the news today..we are heading for one of our driest Novembers on record. Someone want to explain all tis drivel?

Scalem..we would not have these ridiculous water prices if a certain govrnemnet realised one simple thing..when we were in drought..the answer was simple..it will rain. It always has done and always will do. There was no need at all to spend billions on useless water items that now sit dormant.

[tunaticer]

I would like the powers that be to drop NPD down to 70% before the rains begin, at least the river will get flushed with clean water, not red with runoff waters.

[Angla]

What I would really like to see is a chart of the levels that were existing in the lead up to and during the flood.
Then I would like to see a chart of the water that was being released from the dam on a day by day basis.

They could add some drivel about king tides and the like, but it is only the first 2 charts that would interest me.

The people in charge of the dam were holding well in excess of the 100% level well before the rains that did the damage and I believe were not releasing any water from the dam on the weekend prior to the flood. I personally drove over the wall at Wivenhoe to show my wife the spectacle of the water being released only to find NO FLOW AT ALL.

In saying that, I also believe this release is rubbish and the water should be held until it reaches 100%

Who knows what the level is that is required before the dam wall fuses blow out? Is it 168%

Cheers
Chris

[Si]

it wont rain for the next few years. dams will get down to 10% and rather than have a flood inquiry they will have a drought inquiry and try to blame someone or something as to why. tongue in cheek.

hydrologists have said it would make a 5cm difference if there was another flood over chrissy which they added that doenst mean much at all.

[TheRealAndy]

big rains coming so they say...drain the dams. And on the news today..we are heading for one of our driest Novembers on record. Someone want to explain all tis drivel?

Scalem..we would not have these ridiculous water prices if a certain govrnemnet realised one simple thing..when we were in drought..the answer was simple..it will rain. It always has done and always will do. There was no need at all to spend billions on useless water items that now sit dormant.

Was thinking the same thing myself greg.

See we have this massive problem, if it dont rain the dams dry up. If it does rain the dams fill up. Sometimes we get a lot of rain and it floods. If we empty the dams, people whine cause we got no water and have water restrictions. If we leave them full and we get a flood people whine cause they dams were not emptied.

Statisticly it could flood every year, but its very unlikely. In fact, based on current trends it seems that it floods roughly about every 40 years. So why not just leave the water in the dam?

[Mike Delisser]

What I would really like to see is a chart of the levels that were existing in the lead up to and during the flood.
Then I would like to see a chart of the water that was being released from the dam on a day by day basis.

They could add some drivel about king tides and the like, but it is only the first 2 charts that would interest me.

The people in charge of the dam were holding well in excess of the 100% level well before the rains that did the damage and I believe were not releasing any water from the dam on the weekend prior to the flood. I personally drove over the wall at Wivenhoe to show my wife the spectacle of the water being released only to find NO FLOW AT ALL.

In saying that, I also believe this release is rubbish and the water should be held until it reaches 100%

Who knows what the level is that is required before the dam wall fuses blow out? Is it 168%

Cheers
Chris

I can help you with some of that Chris.
The highest Wivenhoe got to was 186% on Jan 13, I think the blow out (which I believe is really a slow partial crumble) is near 220%.

We had a rain event in Oct 2010 and it got to 126% and was then dropped to 100% over the next week (Google "Seeney LNP Wivenhoe November" it makes interesting reading).
Water was flowing into the dam from Dec 21 and was being let out as soon as tides permitted until it was back to 100%. From Jan 6 or 7 it started flowing in faster than they could let it out without causing major flooding. Check out the link below, it shows all the data from all the SEQWater Dams back to the 90's. Select Wivenhoe and move the dates back 12 months, if you place your cursor on various points of the graff it will give you the date and the % of water.
Cheers


http://www.seqwater.com.au/public/dam-levels