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The January 2011 flood event that impacted southeast Queensland is amongst the most extensive and severe floods in terms of loss of life and property damage that the region has experienced, despite it being only the eighth highest flood on record at the Brisbane City Gauge. The spring of 2010 was the wettest on record for Queensland, New South Wales, and the Murray-Darling Basin (Bureau of Meteorology 2011a) at that time. The flood mitigation dams in the region, Somerset Dam and Wivenhoe Dam, had to be operated for flood mitigation purposes during October 2010, which was the first occasion since February 2001 that Wivenhoe Dam had been called into action due to the Millennium Drought. The wet October was followed by a very dry November which, in turn, was followed by the wettest December on record for Brisbane. Somerset Dam and Wivenhoe Dam were again pressed into action on three separate occasions during December 2010. The resultant releases ensured that only minor flooding resulted in the Lower Brisbane River during these events. However, on the 5th of January 2011, another rainfall event started to unfold across the catchments of the dams. By the 10th of January 2011, an upper-level low combined with a humid easterly flow to bring very heavy rainfall and flash flooding to southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. The heaviest falls were in the areas north and west of Brisbane, with three-day totals exceeding 200 mm over most of the Brisbane River catchment. This rainfall event resulted in a flood of record in the Upper Brisbane River and Upper Lockyer Creek catchments that sadly resulted in a substantial loss of life in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, and which required record releases from Wivenhoe Dam. The resultant downstream flooding saw some 14,000 properties impacted, principally in the Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council, Brisbane City Council, and Ipswich City Council local government regions. Flood damage was estimated to be around $2.53 billion. This paper discusses the event as it unfolded and the subsequent judicial inquiries, engineering reviews, and legal proceedings that resulted from the consequences of the operation of Somerset Dam and Wivenhoe Dam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought in the earliest years of the twentieth century stimulated much discussion in Brisbane about the quality of the water supplied to the rapidly growing city. One of the various schemes developed by the Board of Waterworks to obtain better water was the Stradbroke Island Scheme. Although not adopted, its consideration required the close examination of the island's topographic and hydrological features, including an exhaustive survey of the island by Herbert W. Lethem, completed early in 1903. His detailed map and report, together with reports by others such as Board engineers H. G. Foster-Barham (1901) and J. Kemp (1906), and American expert A. Hazen (1907), provide a signifi cant body of scientifi c knowledge of Stradbroke Island. These records portray the island long before the beginning of mineral sand mining (1940s) and municipal water extraction (1990s). This paper is an historical account of the Stradbroke Island Scheme and an assessment of its legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision-support frameworks that help users to consider financial, social and ecological costs and benefits (i.e., ‘triple-bottom-line’ decision frameworks) are increasingly being used by water managers. This paper describes the outcomes of a project that was undertaken to assist stormwater managers to complete triple-bottom-line assessments of proposed urban stormwater quality management measures. The primary outcomes have been: a set of guidelines that clearly define a twelve step assessment process; and the results of a trial that was used to test and refine the guidelines in Brisbane, Australia. A brief overview of the twelve step assessment process is provided. The strengths and weaknesses of typical triple-bottom-line assessment processes are highlighted through the trial, where seven alternative stormwater treatment and reuse options for new, medium density, residential estates were assessed and ranked to help inform broad policy and local design decisions. For managers of urban stormwater quality, we conclude that the guidelines are more tailored, practical and flexible than existing decision support frameworks, whilst maintaining a high degree of assessment rigour. The trial confirmed their value in building the capacity of local stakeholders and making more informed and carefully considered decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazil Development Study investigates the feasibility of alternative approaches to providing sustainable water services to a 226 ha mixed residential and industrial greenfield development within the city of Brisbane, Australia. The alternatives include techniques such as the use of rainwater tanks, water use efficiency, a local wastewater treatment plant for recycling of reclaimed water and composting toilets amongst others. This paper evaluates a series of urban development scenarios against the objectives of the study. The insights gained into the drivers for cost and environmental impact for this particular site are discussed as well as a number of issues of concern and challenges to Council and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]