Class action modelling blames Wivenhoe Dam for flooding

THE majority of 5000 homes and businesses would not have been inundated if Wivenhoe Dam had been operated competently, modelling shows.

THE overwhelming majority of the 5000 homes and businesses signed up for a Brisbane 2011 floods class action now certain to go ahead would not have been inundated if Wivenhoe Dam had been operated competently, modelling by US experts shows.

The modelling shows 85 per cent of the properties would not have suffered any inundation in the floods, which were caused by massive releases from the dam.

The revelations came as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and their corporate backers pledged yesterday to stump up millions of dollars in a major court action to seek compensation for victims of the devastating floods.

Litigation funder IMF Australia and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers announced to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday that "all conditions had been met for funding of the class action to proceed". Some $5 million has been spent already on research and expert reports. The law firm has said it has the potential to be Australia's largest class action.

Damian Scattini, a principal of the law firm, said: "The data shows that 85 per cent of the properties of 5000 people who are currently registered would not have been inundated in any way. Of the remaining 15 per cent, the water levels would have been significantly lower.

"That is how the expert modelling shakes out - and it means that if there had been competent dam management, most of the floodwater would have been contained within the banks of the Brisbane River rather than flooding through homes and businesses.

"We are very confident that the dams were mismanaged and operated negligently."

Investigations and evidence reported extensively by The Australian led to a royal commission-style inquiry in Queensland returning to public hearings and rewriting key parts of its final report.

This led to the finding that the operators of Wivenhoe Dam had breached the operating manual and misled the inquiry.

IMF Australia executive director John Walker said he was talking to major insurers, several of which were expected to join the large class action that is to be filed early next year in the NSW Supreme Court.

"The modelling gives IMF the certainty it needs to commit the millions of dollars required for this claim to proceed," Mr Walker said.

"It has been a long road to this point but we are very pleased now to be able to say the action will go ahead."

The compensation bill could be as much as $2 billion, due to the thousands of properties affected.

However insurers for Wivenhoe Dam would have their liability capped below that in the event of a successful case by flood victims.

This means the Queensland government would need to cover the rest of any successful action for damages.

During late 2010 and the first week of 2011, the engineers permitted the dam to store vast amounts of water.

Concerns about the structural integrity of the dam prompted them to release a sudden and unprecedented volume that caused most of the flooding.

The operators of the Queensland government-owned dam had been forewarned in 2010 that the La Nina-inspired wet season, which caused widespread flooding, would be one of the worst ever.

However, the operators did not take precautionary action and failed to lower the dam's levels to give it a buffer for the forecast inflow. The engineers were also operating the wrong strategy for the dam but did not disclose this in their evidence to the inquiry, which made strong findings against three of the four men.

A subsequent Crime and Misconduct Commission review determined there would be no prosecutions.

The engineers have always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

The floods class action is now expected to be filed early next year with a February 28 deadline set for people to sign up.

"We take the privilege of representing residents and businesses impacted by the 2011 flood very seriously," Mr Scattini said.

"We have put many months of work into this case and we're now ready to run this case and file a lawsuit after we give flood victims a final opportunity to join the claim.

"Anyone who was inundated and suffered loss during the 2011 flood of the Brisbane and Bremer rivers may have a claim and should contact IMF to find out whether their property was unnecessarily flooded.

"For most people, this was a flood that should not have happened if Wivenhoe and Somerset dams had been operated properly."

Premier Campbell Newman, who had previously expressed serious concern over the handling of Wivenhoe Dam, offered a warning.

"Everybody is entitled to launch a class action in this country, that's what democracy and the legal system is all about," Mr Newman said.

"I just say to them, I hope they have got a very clear deal with the legal firms involved and I'd hate to see any payout to them, if that ultimately happened, being gobbled up in legal fees."