Two new flood gauges have been installed at Rocky Creek Dam and on Ballina Street Bridge, Lismore – that saw boats motoring along the bridge’s roadway during the 2022 flood – to enhance real-time flood data collection and emergency response across the region.
The installations by Lismore City Council (LCC) follow ongoing calls for better local flood intelligence, particularly after the 2022 flood disaster highlighted major gaps in real-time information.
The installation of the two gauges will improve access to live, up-to-date flood data for emergency responders, Council teams, and the wider community.
The second gauge was delivered at Rocky Creek Dam, installed on the wharf at the Nightcap Water Treatment Plant with permission from Rous County Council (RCC). This project was delivered in close collaboration with RCC, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and supported by Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and local advocate Annie Kia, Coordinator of the Terania–Keerong Flood Safety Project.
Lismore City Council Acting Chief Operating and Financial Officer Joshua Smith said both installations were carefully chosen for their importance in local flood forecasting.
‘These gauges will soon be feeding real-time data into emergency systems and helping improve decisions in flood events,’ he said.
‘We’re grateful to RCC and the BOM for their support during installation.’
Ttransferring responsibility to BOM
Mr Smith also said the transition of ownership to the BOM under the national Flood Warning Infrastructure Network (FWIN) program will benefit our community.
‘By transferring ownership to the BOM, we’re securing expert maintenance, full integration into national forecasting and long-term reliability,’ he said.
‘This is a more appropriate and fit-for-purpose approach, while giving emergency services and the public faster, more accurate data during critical events.’
The new gauges will feed data into the LCC’s internal monitoring system, providing Council, the SES and local emergency officers with immediate access to real-time readings.
Council is also working to make this data available to the public through the Disaster Dashboard on the Lismore City Council website. The community will be notified as soon as it goes live.
National integration will take longer. It’s expected to take up to 18 months for the data to appear on the BOM’s public website, as part of its national flood warning system.
The FWIN program is a national initiative to simplify, standardise and upgrade flood warning systems across Australia. BOM currently owns only a third of the nation’s 8,000+ gauges.
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