The Queensland government has released the Operations Manual used to manage water levels in Wivenhoe and Somerset dams. The release of the document is part of the state government’s commitment to full transparency on matters relating to the Commission of Inquiry announced by Premier Anna Bligh.

The Operations Manual lists the structural safety of the dam as the highest priority, particularly in extreme weather events where there is the threat of the dam over-topping which could lead to a collapse.

With the structural safety of the dam secure, the next priorities are to protect communities from inundation, minimise disruption to rural life in the valley of the Brisbane and Stanley Rivers, provide full water supply storage after the flood, andminimise impacts to riparian flora and fauna during the drain down phase of the flood event.

The operational procedures outlined in the Operations Manual have been developed and progressively refined over many years, and have been reviewed by Australia’s leading water experts.

They include Professor Colin Apelt, Head of Department, Department of Civil Engineering and Chair of the Brisbane City Council flood taskforce; University of Queensland and Mr Eric Lesleighter, Principal Hydraulic Engineer and Chief Engineer Water Resources, Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation.

The Operations Manual in its current form was developed in 1992 and has had six revisions since this time, with the latest review taking place in 2009, and finalised in January 2010.

It is approved by the State’s Dam Safety Regulator in accordance with the Water Supply Act 2008.

At the request of Seqwater, some sections of the published version Operations Manual have been blacked out for security reasons relating to strategically important infrastructure

The ‘Manual of Operational Procedures for Flood Mitigation at Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam’ can be viewed at www.derm.qld.gov.au