Brisbane city dodges minor flooding at high tide

The Brisbane River has burst its banks, spilling across footpaths, but it failed to reach the minor flood level in the inner city at high tide.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned early on Tuesday that minor flooding was possible in the CBD, coinciding with high tide.

However, the city gauge peaked at 1.57 metres at 8.07am – below the minor flood level of 1.7 metres – before starting to fall.

Debris in the Brisbane River just before 8am on Tuesday.Credit: Thom Ryan

The St Lucia gauge peaked at 1.89 metres at 8.40am on Tuesday – the minor flood level at that spot is 2.4 metres.

Water was lapping over the footpath in parts of the inner city on Tuesday morning, including along Riverside Drive at West End and the Bicentennial Bikeway at Milton.

During the 2022 flood, the Brisbane city gauge in Edward Street peaked at 3.85 metres, and 4.46 metres during the 2011 flood.

The tourist hotspot of South Bank was quieter than usual, with just a few people out for a morning jog, while Streets Beach was still fenced off after the weekend’s wild weather.

Riverside Drive in West End at 8.08am on Tuesday.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

Despite flash flooding inundating homes in Brisbane on Sunday, a repeat of the 2011 or 2022 floods due to river flooding did not eventuate, with ex-cyclone Alfred now moving away from the coast, and only one or two millimetres of rain predicted each day for the next week.

Brisbane received its highest daily rainfall in recorded history in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, with 275 millimetres falling on the city.

The Sandy Creek Road gauge at Grantham was at minor flood levels at 9.30am on Tuesday, and Laidley Creek at the Warrego Highway was at major flood levels at 9am, at 5.87 metres.

The Enoggera Reservoir was 2.15 metres above the spillway and at minor flood levels at 7.30am.

Premier David Crisafulli said on Tuesday it was the “best briefing we have had as a state for a little while”.

“The rainfall is easing, rivers are receding, and the threat of heavy rainfall is disappearing,” he said.

Seqwater will begin controlled flood releases from Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday night due to heavy rain caused by ex-cyclone Alfred.

Chief executive Emma Thomas said Wivenhoe had “reached the trigger” for releases.

“We have been holding back that water while we’ve had a lot of water in the Bremer and Lockyer creeks,” she said.

Releases are not expected to add to flooding already being experienced downstream, and will be made as flows into the Brisbane River from Lockyer Creek and Bremer River recede.

Thomas said releases would provide more flood mitigation capacity for any shift in the weather.

Twin Bridges, Savages Crossing, Burton’s Bridge and Colleges Crossing are already flooded.

Kholo Bridge is expected to be inundated by flows from Lockyer Creek before the Wivenhoe Dam releases.

While only two small treatment plants are offline, Thomas said Seqwater was aware some pre-treated water appeared “chocolatey” but said the water pumped to households was safe to drink.

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