Tweed floods: Animals rescued as water subsides in Murwillumbah

Tweed Shire Council has banned outdoor water use and introduced tight restrictions with grave concerns a village could run out of town water.

There are fears the village of Uki could run out of town water as Tweed Shire Council introduces level 4 water restrictions.

Manager Water and Wastewater Operations Brie Jowett said the council had been tankering water into Uki however flooding and no road access is preventing deliveries.

“A local staff member reached the Uki reservoir this morning and it only has one metre of water left in it,” Ms Jowett said.

“We have concerns the village will run out of water.”

She urged everyone in Uki to only use town water for essential purposes and to boil water before drinking it or using it in food.

Until further notice, Tweed residents can only use water outdoors to address safety or health issues – not to clean up mud and other flood debris.

Ms Jowett said the extreme weather had washed soil and debris into creeks and rivers that flow into water treatment plants and caused power outages at the plants and several water pump stations.

“Our water treatment plants at Uki, Bray Park and Tyalgum are currently offline and we are working around the clock to get them working again,” Ms Jowett said.

“I realise it seems strange having water restrictions right now, but the Tweed is now relying on water stored in our tanks and reservoirs.

“Please limit your water use to drinking, food preparation and personal hygiene. At the moment, do not use water to remove mud or other flood debris.

“These restrictions will lift when our plants are back online.”

Monday night, the council issued a boil water alert for Uki, South Murwillumbah south of Alma Street and parts of Dunbible.

The extreme weather has caused problems with the water supply network, making town water potentially unsafe to consume in those locations.

“The water supply remains safe to drink in other areas of the Tweed including Tyalgum,” Ms Jowett said.

Animals rescued

After multiple cries for help to check on rescue animals trapped in Murwillumbah, 25 cats and more than 30 dogs along with goats and chickens have escaped unscathed in record breaking floods.

On Monday Friends of the Pound volunteers were unable to access their Prospero St cattery where their rescue cats and kittens were trapped.

President Sonia Trichter said a man with a canoe accessed the building late Monday night, breaking glass to check on the cats.

“He reported back they’re all happy sitting there sleeping in their cages,” she said.

An animal foster carer in Tygalgah was also struggling with the rising waters, where she was taking care of more than 30 dogs, cats, chickens and goats.

“The foster carer said she’ll be seeing her front lawn soon,” Mrs Trichter said.

She said she was grateful for the people who offered to help.

“Floods are hard to try and help,” she said.

“We just didn’t know it was coming,” she said.

The Tweed River is slowly easing at Tumbulgum and Chinderah, where major flooding continues according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

On Monday the flooding level went above that seen at the March 2017 and March 1974 events in Murwillumbah, Tumbulgum and Chinderah when the Murwillumbah levee was overtopped in the morning.

Moderate flooding continues upstream at Murwillumbah.

Tweed Shire Council has also alerted residents in South Murwillumbah, Dunbible and Uki to boil their water before drinking due to the flooding.

A number of roads remain closed including the Pacific Highway between Cudgera Creek Road and the Gold Coast Highway, while others are severely damaged including Scenic Drive in Tweed Heads West.