Residents advised to ignore fake text
Date published: 1 February 2019
The Townsville Local Disaster Management Group would like to advise residents to ignore a fake text message claiming the Ross River Dam is at risk due to the rain event.
The multi-agency TLDMG decided to further open the spillway gates further this morning to reduce the risk of significant downstream flooding if further rain occurs over the dam catchment over coming days.
TLDMG Chair Mayor Jenny Hill said this decision was taken using expert advice analysing the predicted patterns to reduce the risk of flood impacts for downstream areas.
“This was a very deliberate decision to minimise potential flooding of homes downstream from the dam if we keep getting major rainfalls over the dam catchment,” Cr Hill said.
“The dam was built for flood mitigation and it is doing its job extremely well. The safety of the dam is paramount and expert engineers have designed, built and maintained it to ensure that it can cope with major wet season events.
“Council recently tested the dam spillway gates and they passed with flying colours.
“We have rigorous procedures to guide how we operate the dam in these circumstances and the TLDMG has taken the step of opening the spillway even further.
“Unfortunately, there is completely inaccurate information circulating our community – and it is unhelpful and potentially dangerous while we are dealing with this weather event.
“For the most up-to-date information please Council’s Emergency Management Dashboard and stay tuned to local media.
“The TLDMG will update the community with any relevant information as soon as practicable.”
