Fourth generation Toorooka beef cattle farmers David and Carolyn Duff are no strangers to the Macleay River in flood.
Aware of the limitations of the region’s flood warning systems, the couple have stepped in to provide real-time alerts - via phone and social media - to farmers across the catchment, when water levels and tensions begin to rise.
“We understand that to move mobs of cattle and machinery, and protect farmers’ livelihoods, people need time to prepare,” David told the Mid North Coaster.
Bush Telegraph: The Duffs form part of the Macleay Early Warning Advisory Group (MEWAG), a collaboration of locals seeking to improve the speed and quality of flood updates.
“We want to try and get accurate, timely information to the people who need it in a language that's understandable, because you can say that the river's 10 metres at Toorooka, but most of the people on the Lower Macleay or in the CBD wouldn't understand what that means,” Duff said.
What happened: Flood warnings were a major focus of discussion for Upper Macleay farmers in Willawarrin on Friday, as the local council presented a study into flood behaviour across the Upper Macleay River catchment.
Undertaken by consultants WMAwater, the study provides information on flood levels, depths, velocities and hazards, using modelling based on data from a major flood in 2011.
It is now on public exhibition, with locals being asked to check whether the modelling matches the flooding they have witnessed over the years.
Community questions: Farmers in attendance on Friday said flood gauges and cameras meant to service the community are not reliable.
Gauge measurements from Georges Creek, Bellbrook, Toorooka, Moparrabah, Turners Flat, Aldavilla and Sherwood Bridge are on the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) website. Cameras operate at Bellbrook Bridge, Turners Flat Bridge, Sherwood Bridge and the Kempsey Traffic Bridge.
The concerns: Duff claims the BOM’s real-time data is often inaccurate, “because of poorly maintained gauges and the lag to that information being available”.
“The shire and the SES can't put out warnings unless they're told by the BOM, and the BOM is relying on inaccurate gauges,” Duff said.
Local gauges are owned and operated by a range of government agencies and the council.
Lack of data: Some places, like Temagog, have no official gauge or camera.
Long-time Temagog local Paul Scanlon recalls water rising “13 metres over the top of the bridge” during a major flood in 2021, but said the community is still forced to rely on an informal network of residents to deliver real-time information.
He is one of a group of locals who put out signs on nearby roads during floods, advising whether the bridge is open or closed.
“Accurate information would help limit people going through floodwater or putting themselves at risk.”
Infrastructure impacts: Also a member of MEWAG, Kempsey Shire deputy mayor Arthur Bain has “seen a few floods” in his 35 years in the Upper Macleay.
He recalls, during a previous flood, collecting council staff who had been dropped off to Bellbrook in a helicopter, bypassing closed roads and bridges, so they could check levels at the local water treatment plant.
Bain said the study is “long overdue”, due to the cumulative impact of flood events on the shire’s infrastructure and bank balance.
Time to prepare: WMAwater managing director Mark Babister warned the audience the time to prepare was now.
“As the world gets warmer … you can carry more moisture in the atmosphere, and extreme flooding will get worse,” Babister said.
“We expect extreme flooding has probably already gone up on a catchment like this by about 10 percent since 1990.”
What’s next: The flood study is on public exhibition. Have your say here until October 29.
The study will guide council’s future risk management and planning, and impact where homes and infrastructure can be built.