What efffect on bay fishing if Wivenhoe spills

[rando]

I seem to recall reports of Wivenhoe being chocka with gar and boney bream.
They reacon she will start to spill soon.
I wonder if it will affect the bay eventually, once some of that landlocked bait goes over the wall.

[PinHead]

what do you mean by "she will start to spill soon" ?

[fisher28]

not too sure rando,but i do know that it washes down heaps of little prawns,not sure what effect it would have on the fish,but it would be good for the river in the long run.

[rando]

Pinhead
As at Friday 1st. Wivenhoe was 99.7 percent FSL. And it was suggested that a wet weekend would send it over the wall.

[TheRealAndy]

Good, open her up. The bay needs a good de-silting!!

[rando]

Even at full storage level the dam has a further 1.5 million megalitre capacity as temporary flood mitigation.
With the probability of future water shortages due to global warming,common sense would dictate using some of that capacity to store a little extra.No expensive new dams necessary.
I doubt the powers that be have an ounce of common sense, so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next 6 months,with increased river flow and a large new source added to the food chain.

[Mike Delisser]

They won't use the extra flood capacity for storing water any longer than they have to, farmland and some road currently used by the public would be flooded for an extended period. Also from now until April are the wetest months of the year and that extra flood capacity may be needed, and that's what it's designed for.

In the long run any extra water flows down the river will help the fishing in the lower river & bay, just might be quiet for a short while if they let heaps out.
I wouldn't mind at all if they flushed out all that water hyacinth that's in the brizzy River below Wivenhoe.

[TimiBoy]

With the Southern Oscillation pointing towards a strong La Nina, combined with the PDO and AMO moving into a cooling phase, get used to the dam being full for the next twenty years or so.

Global warming my a$$. Get your coat on, because it's getting cooler, and wetter.

Tim

[rando]

Looks like they will run that extra water through the hydroelectric plant,,,, no fresh bait going over the wall.

[fisher28]

does that mean my next power bill will be cheaper?::)

[Mike Delisser]

Looks like they will run that extra water through the hydroelectric plant,,,, no fresh bait going over the wall.

Gday Rando. I thought the hydro plant at Wivenhoe worked by pumping water uphill from the dam to a holding reservoir then running down through the hydro plant and back into Wivenhoe. Somehow making a bit more power than it took to initially pump the water up. Well that's what I always thought anyway.

Water going through Somerset's hydro plant does end up downstream of its' wall, that water then flows into Wivenhoe.

Cheers
Mike

[Mike Delisser]

Answered my own question Rando, there are 2 hydro power plants at Wivenhoe,
The main one (500mw) draws water up then puts it back into the dam, and a 2nd small unit (4.5mw) that releases water into the river below the wall.

"Wivenhoe Power Station is an example of a pumped storage system. It is near Ipswich in South East Queensland and is situated between Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe, which is around 100 metres below the Splityard Creek Dam. Lake Wivenhoe is the body of water formed by Wivenhoe Dam and is the lower storage for the pumped-storage 500 MW hydroelectric power station. The power station uses Francis turbines and is owned and remotely-operated by Tarong Energy Corporation. Wivenhoe Dam is owned and managed by SEQ Water. (http://www.energymuseum.com.au/06_education/HydroPower.htm#_ftn3)
A second small hydro-electric generating plant at Wivenhoe Dam was commissioned in 2003. It was installed by Stanwell Corporation and is positioned beneath one of the dam’s five spillway slots. It operates 24 hours a day, every day of the week. The water passes through an inlet valve into a horizontal 4.5 MW Francis turbine."

[Andrew M]

Water for hydro plant is recirculated, pumped up into Splityard Creek Dam & then dropped back into Wivenhoe through the turbines.
They will have to look at releasing some water soon as Mike said farmland & access roads will be affected.
The bridges out to Billy's Bay & Hays Landing were just underwater yesterday.

Cheers Andrew

[fat-buoy]

I wouldn't think they would release any water any time soon... even at 100% full the dam is only at 50% of it's true capacity as it is basically designed as flood mitigation...

Even if Somerset broke its wall and let it all down to Wivenhoe the water level would only go up about anther 25% of the flood mitigation ability....

[trueblue]

they are already releasing it tonight, planning to go down back just under 100%

[Mike Delisser]

Heard the long range forcast on the news tonight, very strong La Nina means a much wetter spring & summer than usual. Forcasters predict up to 6 cyclones for Qld this season and 1 before Xmas.

[fat-buoy]

I wouldn't think they would release any water any time soon... even at 100% full the dam is only at 50% of it's true capacity as it is basically designed as flood mitigation...

Even if Somerset broke its wall and let it all down to Wivenhoe the water level would only go up about anther 25% of the flood mitigation ability....

Well I have to get a nice chewy hat to eat now don't I ::)

I am absolutely amazed that they are releasing the water... given the catchment etc I would think they would hold on to the water for as long as they need and release it when necessary...

Given that I am on the Sunshine Coast and the government in all it's infinite wisdom has spent a heap of money building a pipeline to take the water from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane... great long term plan maybe, albeit based on our tiny little catchment in the first place... and to add to their wisdom this system cannot be turned off or reversed.... so we are sending 20 million litres of our water to Brisbane each and every day so that they can turn around and release it down the river... where is the logic in that??

Oh and if you believe the long range forecast of Ken Ring (who has been pretty accurate to date) we are in for a long dry spell with no water coming our way..

Hmmm if I was the decision maker I would be holding off for a bit to see what was coming up a little longer before pissing it all away.

[TimiBoy]

Oh and if you believe the long range forecast of Ken Ring (who has been pretty accurate to date) we are in for a long dry spell with no water coming our way..

Hmmm if I was the decision maker I would be holding off for a bit to see what was coming up a little longer before pissing it all away.

Yes, Ken Ring has a good rep. Do you buy his forecast, or is that a third hand conclusion? Dying to hear some good news about some dry weather...

Re Wivenhoe, once it gets to 100% they must let the water go. Just imagine if they went 105%, say, and we had a 1974 rain event which then blew the dam because they had over filled? I don't think passing 100% passes any responsible risk assessment.

Re piping the water down from the Sunny Coast, I couldn't agree more. What an unadulterated waste of Taxpayers' funds. Same with the ripping of water from the Redlands. Bloody stupid, really costly, and now we all pay for it.

Cheers,

Tim

[rando]

Timiboy

Wivenhoe has emergency storage capacity of 1.5 million megalitres.In other words it is designed to accept that volume of water.
Its current capacity is about 1.1 million megalitres. The emergency storage capacity is addition to the 1.1 mill full storage level.
It has taken three years of quite unusual rain events to go from 16% to 100%
.
I don't understand where you see a risk in the dam doing what it was intended to do.
It would take an extraordinary rain event to take it anywhere near full emergency capacity.
We are talking here of 7 times the volume of Sydney Harbour,,,, Ain't gunna happen;D

[PinHead]

were you here in 1974 Rando?...sure as hell enough rai nthen to fill it.
At a talk given by a SEQ Water bloke at the dam a few weeks back..the dam is deisgned to hold the flood mitigation water for a short time only...once the levels get above the 100% normal capacity a decision will be made as to when to open the gates. Their concern is hitting the top of the mitigation levels and then the self destruct wall going..what an incredible sight that would be..but I would prefer it never happens.

Why the concern over saving any water above the 100% mark? No need for it.

[mudrunner]

With the Southern Oscillation pointing towards a strong La Nina, combined with the PDO and AMO moving into a cooling phase, get used to the dam being full for the next twenty years or so.

Global warming my a$$. Get your coat on, because it's getting cooler, and wetter.

Tim


you bet!!!:thumbsup:

[rando]

But just to get back to the original subject.
I was hoping seq would open the spillway gates and let some of the livestock that has built up since the dam was last full,get out into the river.Might have had a benefit for the whole river.

Pinhead
I was working in a restaurant in Elizabeth Arcade in the city and watched the river creep up Charlotte street till it was1/4 inch from flowing over the doorstep and flooding the place because it was below street level. .I couldn't get home for three days.
I know what its like when the monsoon comes south.!
Like the summer of 1970 when I worked as a telegram boy and it rained every day for 5 weeks.
Both those events were weeks of steady rain everyday.
Perhaps we are due for another soaking, but I don't think that dam will be at risk.It was built to hold a certain maximum capacity and it would have been pointless to under engineer it.

[Charlie]

Timiboy

Wivenhoe has emergency storage capacity of 1.5 million megalitres.In other words it is designed to accept that volume of water.
Its current capacity is about 1.1 million megalitres. The emergency storage capacity is addition to the 1.1 mill full storage level.
It has taken three years of quite unusual rain events to go from 16% to 100%
.
I don't understand where you see a risk in the dam doing what it was intended to do.
It would take an extraordinary rain event to take it anywhere near full emergency capacity.
We are talking here of 7 times the volume of Sydney Harbour,,,, Ain't gunna happen;D

Port Jackson does hold a lot of water, Sydney Harbour not as much as you might imagine ,still good to see some decent rain.

[Mike Delisser]

I don't understand where you see a risk in the dam doing what it was intended to do.
;D

And what they are going to do is exactly what the dam was intended to do.

[TimiBoy]

Timiboy

Wivenhoe has emergency storage capacity of 1.5 million megalitres.In other words it is designed to accept that volume of water.
Its current capacity is about 1.1 million megalitres. The emergency storage capacity is addition to the 1.1 mill full storage level.
It has taken three years of quite unusual rain events to go from 16% to 100%
.
I don't understand where you see a risk in the dam doing what it was intended to do.
It would take an extraordinary rain event to take it anywhere near full emergency capacity.
We are talking here of 7 times the volume of Sydney Harbour,,,, Ain't gunna happen;D

As pointed out below, the dam is at 100%. Anything over that is eating into it's emergency capacity. Why do that? As I said, if you DO that, and we get 1974 over again, no one wants to be (or should be) responsible for the potential outcome. Let it do what it is designed to do, and don't make dumb decisions on the basis of alarmism.

Tim

[gregw]

Toowoomba still has just about zilch water, why not pump some there instead of down the river. Therir 3 combined dams are still at 21.9% capacity as of yesterday.

[Mike Delisser]

Toowoomba still has just about zilch water, why not pump some there instead of down the river. Therir 3 combined dams are still at 21.9% capacity as of yesterday.

That's a point, the pipeline from Wivenhoe to Cressbrook is finished and functioning.

[PinHead]

Toowoomba still has just about zilch water, why not pump some there instead of down the river. Therir 3 combined dams are still at 21.9% capacity as of yesterday.

they are pumping it up there...it does not happen overnight..water is one of the hardest things to pump..so much weight. I heard it will take about 2 years to fill Cressbrook (I think that is there dam..I may be wrong) from Wivenhoe. The pick up tower is right next to the Esk pick up tower.

[devocean]

The barra will run for sure I reckon:)

[Mike Delisser]

Timiboy

Wivenhoe has emergency storage capacity of 1.5 million megalitres.In other words it is designed to accept that volume of water.
Its current capacity is about 1.1 million megalitres. The emergency storage capacity is addition to the 1.1 mill full storage level.
It has taken three years of quite unusual rain events to go from 16% to 100%
.
I don't understand where you see a risk in the dam doing what it was intended to do.
It would take an extraordinary rain event to take it anywhere near full emergency capacity.
We are talking here of 7 times the volume of Sydney Harbour,,,, Ain't gunna happen;D

In todays Brisbane paper SEQWater stated a 1974 like deludge would overflow Wivenhoe's flood reserve capacity in 72 hours. Plus only 1/2 of the Brizzy River's catchment is above the Wivenhoe wall so they recon they will need room to hold back all they can if their to stop flood damage if there's a major rain event.

The dam managers, engineers and hydrologists know what they're doing and any large scale change to their plans would no doubt come about because of political interference based on pandering to public opinion. IMO
Cheers

[charleville]

Oh and if you believe the long range forecast of Ken Ring (who has been pretty accurate to date) we are in for a long dry spell with no water coming our way..

Heheheh!

Does anyone remember the lead-up to the summer in which the 1974 floods happened?

I recall, vividly, the TV advertisements featuring Lennox Walker, the renown long range weather forecaster, in which he was predicting a very dry summer and suggesting, therefore, that everyone ought to buy a Pope sprinkler.


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


.

[finding_time]

Heheheh!

Does anyone remember the lead-up to the summer in which the 1974 floods happened?

I recall, vividly, the TV advertisements featuring Lennox Walker, the renown long range weather forecaster, in which he was predicting a very dry summer and suggesting, therefore, that everyone ought to buy a Pope sprinkler.


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


.

yep Bruce i remember!!! To bad the news channels that bring these guys out of the closset every so often dont!! Lets face it there are so many variables when it comes to the weather that they cant even get an accurate 7 day forecast let alone a whole summer one done!!! Long range weather forecasting is akin to tea leave reading imho!!! It all B/S!!!!

Ian

Ps on the Wivanhoe issue they are doing exactallty the right thing letting water out! One decent cyclone and it could easily add the 40% it takes to make it spill!!! The dam was designed as flood mitigation( not water storage!!) and this is what it should be used for! With everything well and truely soaked look out for Murphy sending some real wet stuff our way!;)

Ian

[rando]

The gates are open,,,,, tonnes of bait heading for the bay. not to mention bass and everything else that swims.
Could be the start of something good.

[Mike Delisser]

Well the river & bay can have the bait and a good flush but I don't think the stocking group would share your enthusiasm about the bass Rando.
I've noticed in the past when this has happened a lot of the stocked fish don't survive going over the wall. There were tons of dead fish below the Wivenhoe wall last time, stocked fish and catties. I joined quite a few from this site in a rescue and clean up at Nth Pine Dam when it's gates were last opened, we saved over 100 lungies but it wasn't very nice.
cheers

[rando]

Yes Mike , the stockists might not like it. But the fish will still be available from below the dam, and they will be able to breed in years to come.

[fat-buoy]

Will be interesting to see what affect it has on the bay and the Sunny Coast etc as the currents move the water north...

Been a while since they let the water out so this may be a balance thing and spark the fishing in the local area also... could be a good thing overall!

[FNQCairns]

Well you blokes are sorta kinda due for a cyclone or at least a related widespread depression from one, dumping lots in a little while.

Up here the media is trying to sensationalise this upcoming cyclone season, we have warm enough water already so who knows......one thing for sure from watching this stuff is they only have a very broad idea, any less is a guess.

Safer bet to go with natural variation and the probability within , last one down there was in the late 80s? as a deep depression offshore i think, remember heading out in the thick of it for mango hill, came back with a boot full:)

[rando]

Huge amount of water coming down the river.I was down at Kingsford Smith Drive at 11 today and the water was almost over the retaining wall over on the bulimba side.Went past again at 2.00 river still up even 2hrs after the tide.

[Young Gun]

Bass in the Bay, Awesome!! Just like the bass in the Coomera. ;D

[PinHead]

amazing isn't it..all this rai nand Anna spent 9 billion on a water grid..what a complete waste..just think how the hospitals could be working with that kind of money.
Anyone feel guilty about being conned into buying a water tank?

[castlemaine]

amazing isn't it..all this rai nand Anna spent 9 billion on a water grid..what a complete waste..just think how the hospitals could be working with that kind of money.
Anyone feel guilty about being conned into buying a water tank?


LOL, I got a 'show cause' notice from the council because they reckon I'm using too much water as set down by the Water Commission::) ;D

[PinHead]

LOL castlemaine...tell em to send a bloody bill to God also..did ya see how much water he wasted with it gushing down all the creeks lately?

[castlemaine]

LOL castlemaine...tell em to send a bloody bill to God also..did ya see how much water he wasted with it gushing down all the creeks lately?

When I spoke to the lady at the council she seemed a bit embarrassed that she had to state the regulation as it is now law and also while it was pissing down outside.
I guess the law is the law ... whether it is raining or not.
So when will they change it back, do they have to take it back to Parliament???:-?

[charleville]

LOL, I got a 'show cause' notice from the council because they reckon I'm using too much water as set down by the Water Commission::) ;D


I received three of them during the water crisis but steadfastly refused to send back their appallingly intrusive questionaire. I abused every politician in reach by letter about such and got a lovely letter from my local alderman in which he said that the council did not want to send out those letters but was forced to by the water commission - which as we know was headed up at the time by a lady who chose to build a new swimming pool at her house at the height of the crisis.

Her answer to media questioning as to why she was building a pool at the very height of the water crisis was, "Because I like to swim."

Stupid bloody woman!

Anyway, because of the lovely written response from my local alderman, I changed my voting patterns in his favour at the following election.


.

[timddo]

Hmmm we are paying $2.60 a for 1000 l. Sprinkers will never come back. But water prices will go up.

[TimiBoy]

I got a show cause and ignored it. I never put in water tanks. I guess most of you know I said things like "The rain will come, it always does."

Once you get away from the stupidity of Global Warming hysteria, it becomes obvious that as long as we are in a Country of drought and flooding rains, well, that's what we'll get...

Tim

[charleville]

I did not put in water tanks either and had a similar confidence to Timiboy that the rains would return, albeit I acknowledge that we were close to a crisis.

My complaint about the whole matter concerned a couple of things...

Firstly, I continue to be appalled at the lack of planning for effective water management. I used to be an engineer undertaking unrelated infrastructure planning for a few years way back in the 1980's and I was used to planning periods of 20 years. Viz, we were always looking forward twenty years to ensure that demand would be met. I struggle to believe that such planning was not undertaken for our water resources in the sort of lifestyle that we were used to enjoying with plentiful water, as we have now.

Secondly, I was appalled at the puerile level of management of the problem once it became evident. For example, the councils had to have a meeting amongst themselves to decide whether to reduce water pressure by 10% to reduce water loss through pipe leakages. Why have a meeting? Doesn't someone on the Brisbane City Council have the leadership qualities to just do it without needing a committee meeting of councils?

Finally, the method of water rationing grossly favoured people who spent the bulk of their week in employment using their employer's water and not retired people who might also have medical problems that necessitated more water usage than most people anyway.

To get around that latter matter, the councils were forced to send out the most obnoxiously intrusive questionaire to try to force people to justify using water that should have been available if responsible infrastructure planning had been in place all along.

...and then to top it off, that dopey, arrogant female water commissioner goes and builds herself a swimming pool at the very worst time in the crisis. Sheesh!!! >:(


.

[charleville]

I see that the dams are now at 118% of capacity.

Can I hose my driveway yet, Mr Water Commissioner?

http://img.skitch.com/20101013-fqgbf62ejewkjskhd4gpqhhetb.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/d5rka/latest-dam-levels-seqwater)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/d5rka/latest-dam-levels-seqwater) - Uploaded with Skitch (http://skitch.com)


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[rando]

The dams will be releasing 370021 megalitres(disregarding further inflows).It will certainly be interesting to see what that does to the whole river/bay system.

[PinHead]

rando..it will be the best thing for the bay for many years..just think..without the dams there would be a natrual fluash when these rains occurred.

Bruce..they did plan ahead..they built Wivenhoe..but some Goose (Goss and Rudd and Swann) did not build Wolffdene. Somerset and Wivenhoe are sufficient to handle out needs. I still do not believe there was a crisis..they just kept citing percentages anot actual figures and historical data which shows that all was not in dire straits at all..just need to have some water restrictions for a while..no tanks (tanks are for country areas)..disgusting looking things..and just wait till it rained..I could have saved them a fortune.

[bigbrian47]

i like the way they always talk about percentages including puddles they call dams
bruce that dopey arrogant commissioner was copping a fair bit of coin to tell us not to use much water

[charleville]

Greg - I agree that tanks are for country areas. It was not without reason that they were banned in the big smoke some years ago for health reasons.

As a bloke who cleans out his own gutters and sees what accumulates in there, I sure would not want to be drinking nor swimming in the water than came off my roof in a city.


.

[PinHead]

yes Bruce..banned many years back were the tanks..and my tip..an outbreak of Ross River or dengue fever because people will not clean the strainers etc on their tanks.

[charleville]

bruce that dopey arrogant commissioner was copping a fair bit of coin to tell us not to use much water


Gee whizz, Brian! Don't bloody well rub it in! A man of my age should not get his blood pressure raised too high.

She was also chairman of the board of the failed Commander Communications ...

"Elizabeth Nosworthy had to do a pretty hard thing yesterday. As chair of Commander Communications she had to face probably the angriest group of shareholders at any of this year’s annual meetings and tell them she hasn’t sacked the management and couldn’t sell the company.
Commander has been an unmitigated disaster. Several profit warnings have seen the share price collapse from $2 to 32c in six months." Source http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/A-board-not-quite-in-command-9FRYP?OpenDocument


...and was also on the board of the failed Babcock and Brown ...

"While her record of as non-executive director was dubious, Nosworthy didn’t appear to be taking a great deal of responsibility for Babcock & Brown’s fate – apparently, everyone else was to blame."
.....
"Nosworthy also claimed that “in the circumstances [she didn’t think] that any other CEO would have done better”. Given Babcock lost $5.6 billion in 2009 (the greatest loss made by an Australian company), it’s hard to think of how any CEO could have done much worse."
Source: http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/08/03/former-babcock-chief-short-sellers-responsible-for-fall-of-company/


http://img.skitch.com/20101013-ee8tyqrqab6dds54ii6np1rewy.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/d5fba/skitched-20101013-171007)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/d5fba/skitched-20101013-171007) - Uploaded with Skitch (http://skitch.com)





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[charleville]

..and my tip..an outbreak of Ross River or dengue fever because people will not clean the strainers etc on their tanks.



Hmmm! I wonder if the authorities are predicting that themselves. Only yesterday, I received a letter from the State Government asking if I wanted to participate in a research study of a vaccine to prevent dengue fever.



.

[charleville]

... and now ...



"PARTS of Brisbane are set to flood tomorrow regardless of whether it rains or not, because the controlled water released from Wivenhoe Dam will combine with a peak tide.

Residents of inner city suburbs have been urged not to park their cars on at-risk streets as authorities fear parts of the city will be inundated as water released from Wivenhoe Dam combines with a high tide.

Brisbane City Council has advised areas of Bowen Hills, Newstead, Albion, Windsor, Milton, Norman Park and East Brisbane are in the firing line.

Parts of roads may also be closed in preparation for the overflow of water, which is expected to peak after the high tide at 2.36pm.

Council will make sandbags available for concerned residents at the Darra Works Depot, Morningside Works Depot, Newmarket SES depot and Zillmere Works Depot."


Source ... http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/parts-of-brisbane-set-to-flood-as-water-released-from-wivenhoe-dam-combines-with-high-tide/story-e6freoof-1225938316016



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[Fish_gutz]

I`ve been watching the water pour out at the mouth of the Brisbane river Monday and yesterday arvo and with a .6 or .7 low tide on monday the sandbanks didn`t even look like exposing themselves on the northern banks past the poo shute to coopers channel. every ten or fifteen minutes another colour line makes it`s way to the mouth like a surge of darker chocolate milk with a visible froth line crossing the river from bank to bank which I have never seen before so I`m thinking these are the pressure waves or surges of fresh from wivenhoe. a few bits of weed but not a lot of debri compared to previous downpours but i`m sure that will come. as the tide tries to come in the current on top must be doin about 3 to 4 knots in the other direction and doesn`t look like letting up for a while. On a different note there was Taylor smashing bait schools against the rock wall on the southern reaches so the fishies are still there and they don`t mind playing in the fresh!

Andrew

[sarg]

just need to have some water restrictions for a while..no tanks (tanks are for country areas)..disgusting looking things..and just wait till it rained..I could have saved them a fortune.

What about people who use excess water? Are they supposed to just give up there hobbies?

Surely you wouldnt disagree that having one on all new houses to flush crap down the toilet is not a good idea?

[therapy]

More to come!! Bay fishing should be great but you have to think of all the brake dust, carbon, rubber particles, oil, plastic and other assorted crappola that is getting washed down into the creeks. At least it is being diluted but it still ends up in the system.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/la-nina-gaining-strength-as-threat-of-more-wet-weather-in-queensland-looms/story-e6freoof-1225938383091

Cheers.....Terry.....

[Lovey80]

Yep, I agree that new dwellings should have to have tanks and for old dwellings that are capable they should have the option of having their instalations taken off the rates bills. With water pretty much privatised in most areas there is a large chunk of cash councills have no right to and should be given back in schemes like this. Tanks are part of the solution for the tough times. You prepare for the bad when it is good.

We managed to hit very very conservative water usage targets as a Region at during the bad times just because of public awareness of the issue because of all the media hype about it. The exact same could be done for clearing of gutters, I am sure mass media depicting the affects of ross river and the like would motivate to clean them out or at least get someone in to do it.

[Slider]

No doubt the Bris River can use the flush, but all of the accumulated nutrient that is being deposited in the bay would almost certainly trigger lyngbia and anaulus australis blooms.

[oldboot]

Interestingly I have just finished reading the state government printed history of the Harbours and Marine Department from white setttlemant to 1985.

It records several periods of small river inflows and lack of siltation that caused the states dredge feet to be laid up for years at a time.

it notes several ocasions of long drought accompanied by dipression followed by heavy rains and prosperity...Hmmm......1925 ish 10 year drought.

this also influenced shipping traffic....hmmm

remember in 1974 ther was no Wyvenhoe, and when it was built it was calculated that it would take 15 years to fill.....from memory it filled in something like 2.

as far as containing a failure in the wall at sommerset a wall that has had a know flaw since construction ( the engineers have been pissing ther pants since the 50's).....forget it......it would go over the top and take quite a but of wyvenhoe capacity with it.......I knew a boke in high in the SES up that way, and their disaster plan provided for a failure at Sommerset......line 1 read something like "RUN FOR THE HILLS"

this is why they wont lest sommerset get much over 75% full.

As for the good.......mt crosby weir should be solid with bas & bait once it settles down.

My sistes husband recons there was a considerable improvement in the river after the 74 flood.....this is the biggest fresh since dredging has bee stoped in the city and upper reaches and polution laws were toughened up.

I recon this will be great for the river.

as far as urban polution.......this is a far bigger problem when the rains are light and inflows are small.........a good big flush should dilute and carry much of the ploution far out to sea beyond the bay.....remember these flows continue past what we call the mouth of the river.

As far as I can see it all good;D

cheers

[PinHead]

ob..I would not worry too much about any perceived fault in Somerset..it has been at 100% many times since it was finished in the lat 1950's.

The one that would be awesome to see is if the rock wall at Wivenhoe ever lets go.

[charleville]

I wonder if the big flushes of fresh water will be driving all of the bull sharks in the river out into the Bay.

The conventional wisdom that I read in these forum is that in normal times, in the the upper reaches of the river, bull sharks can exist because salt water settles at the bottom of the water column because of density and that even if the water feels fresh to the taste at the surface, danger could still lie below.

Regular daily big flushes might flush out all sorts of things.



.

[therapy]

Never seen one of these before!! Also touches on the effects of the recent rains.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/queensland-seafood-gets-a-boost-from-huge-rainfalls/story-e6frer56-1225941989344

Cheers...Terry....

[Lovey80]

If there is a perceived or real fault in the Sommerset dam wall it can easily be mitigated by keeping the water level in Wivenhoe at a similar level surely? That would alleviate any pressure at all on the wall. Ok so I am back in early December for 2-3 weeks. So should I be praying for it to be pissing down with rain around Brisi up until about the 20th of November and then clear fine 5kt days from then until Christmas? Give it a good ol flush and then settle down for me to come home and get stuck into the fish in the bay? Sounds like a plan, have to have a word with the man upstairs..... ha

[PinHead]

If there is a perceived or real fault in the Sommerset dam wall it can easily be mitigated by keeping the water level in Wivenhoe at a similar level surely? That would alleviate any pressure at all on the wall. Ok so I am back in early December for 2-3 weeks. So should I be praying for it to be pissing down with rain around Brisi up until about the 20th of November and then clear fine 5kt days from then until Christmas? Give it a good ol flush and then settle down for me to come home and get stuck into the fish in the bay? Sounds like a plan, have to have a word with the man upstairs..... ha

I doubt there can be equal levels either side of the dam wall Chris..the water back up in Lake Wivenhoe will go back up the Brisbane River and not to the Somerset wall

[Lovey80]

ah well just a thought. Haven't actually seen either wall from one side or the other. Good to see the dams are full though and we can shut the GW nutters up for a while...