Bundaberg flood disaster 'man made'

THE Bundaberg flood disaster, with river volumes and speeds never seen before, was partly man-made, according to Tin Can Bay environment adviser Joe McLeod.

THE Bundaberg flood disaster, with river volumes and speeds never seen before, was partly man-made, according to Tin Can Bay environment adviser Joe McLeod. Picture: Gary Hutchison

THE Bundaberg flood disaster, with river volumes and speeds never seen before, was partly man-made, according to Tin Can Bay environment adviser Joe McLeod.

And Mr McLeod says a similar result might have been seen in Gympie if the Traveston dam had been built.

Mr McLeod, who has written and presented scientifically accepted papers on the impact of dams and weirs, says it is time to question popular assumptions that dams reduce floods.

"The unplanned and ad hoc building of water storages in the lower Burnett system has demonstrated the opposite effect," he said.

Mr McLeod partly blames the record Bundaberg flood on the combined water delivery effects of full water storage areas from the Paradise Dam, Nev Churchward weir and Ben Anderson Barrage.

And he has some support from University of Queensland environmental regulation expert Chris McGrath, who has told the media the Paradise Dam did not mitigate the Bundaberg flood because it was full and its jammed flood gates did not allow it to be emptied to hold back flood water.

Mr McLeod said he had raised the problems of the heavily dammed Burnett catchment, at an international symposium attended by academics and other experts some years ago.

"I asked them about the likely effect of the then-proposed Paradise Dam and few said it would mitigate floods."

He said most believed it would accelerate flood waters by eliminating the riverine landforms and vegetation which slowed water down.

"Full dams do not mitigate floods," he said.