Mutual aid in action through qldwater

Queensland’s water industry has united in supporting disaster recovery. More people across the state can improve emergency management processes by taking a mutual aid approach.

Tropical Cyclone Jasper crossed the Queensland coast as a Category 2 system in the vicinity of Wujal Wujal on the evening of 13 December 2023. While Jasper was not as strong as first predicted, it was associated with an extraordinary flooding event and is recorded as the wettest tropical cyclone in Australian history.

The region experienced moderate to locally intense rainfall, which peaked at 2,252 mm (88.7 in) at Bairds near the Daintree River. At the same time, the Barron River surpassed the March 1977 record of 3.8 metres, making the event the worst flooding since records began in 1915. According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the flooding left its modelling unable to predict impacts or durations of flows.

Given the catastrophic outcomes to some communities and their urban water services and networks, the Australian Water Sector Mutual Aid Guidelines (MAG) was initiated. The MAG provides a tried-and-tested framework to guide water utilities impacted by disasters and emergencies seeking water sector-specific support to aid their response and recovery.

Since its development in 2010, the MAG has been used nationwide in several water sector emergencies and has aided some overseas deployments. The MAG is maintained by the Water Services Sector Group (WSSG), the national water sector group of emergency, resilience, and security professionals, and it forms the foundation of these arrangements’ initial activation.

For the Cyclone Jasper response, the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (RDMW) sought these arrangements to establish a Mutual Aid Coordination Cell (MACC) to support the impacted communities in North Queensland.

The creation of the MACC

An industry-government coalition was formed (within days), incorporating all relevant government departments and impacted local government areas and industries to create the MACC.

Mutual Aid Coordination Cell Process

The responsibilities of the MACC, once established at either a State or National level, are to:

collect, collate and disseminate requests for assistance and, indeed, offers of assistance;
coordinate all offers and provision of mutual aid through the appropriate emergency management arrangements supporting the requesting utility and
supply a liaison officer to the Requesting Utility if required.

The MACC was established mainly through the leadership and support of government and water utilities in South East Queensland to coordinate the logistical operations in North QLD based on the direction and impacts of the local communities.

A vital principle of the MACC is that it is involved at the invitation of the local WSP (local government), and regional decision-makers and managers retain the lead. Above all, it provides sector-specific specialist resources, equipment, and support to water service providers and their personnel.

Local support needed

The local operators on the ground become exhausted very quickly after an event like Jasper. Queensland already has significant water operator and water network workforce shortages across its communities – there is no redundancy in our workforces (and a 15-25 per cent vacancy rate is not unusual). Responding to such events can burn out local workers quickly. Having the support of other operators and network workers is essential. Jasper’s timing was worse as it occurred during Christmas when people had booked leave or were already out of the community, exacerbating the workforce and knowledge vacuum issues.

The first resources deployed by the MACC arrived in Port Douglas on Christmas Eve. They could have water services restored to the township on Christmas Day after either no or intermittent water services for five days. Their arrival allowed local crews to rest and recharge after working on the cyclone recovery for almost two weeks straight. Further resources and equipment arrived, and the MACC crews worked with local teams and leaders in Douglas Shire before shifting focus to the Wujal Wujal community over several weeks to reinstate water services and assets.

It is important to note that the MACC also fed information to the State Disaster Management Committee and, early on, into Ministerial and Government briefings via a daily Situation Report. This ensured the flow of accurate, timely information updated by on-the-ground activities. This was coordinated through an overarching Mutual Aid Steerco that the MACC reported into each day.

Examples of Mutal Aid

Examples of Mutual Aid delivered included but were not limited to:

Two crews worked on the ground. One from Urban Utilities and one from Unitywater collaborated to help Douglas Shire Council restore water services to the community.
Water Treatment Plant Experts from Seqwater and Urban Utilities engineering partners are working with local water operators to repair damage to water intakes and restore safe drinking water.
Events at Wujal Wujal left local switchboards unserviceable. New switchboards were found to have a 3-4 month lead time. Unitywater repurposed switchboards intended for their operations, enabling the restoration of services for the community.
Support from regional water service providers, including Mareeba Shire Council (logistics and staging support), Townsville City Council (supervisor and operator relief) and Cairns Regional Council (testing equipment, access to essential equipment for the work).
The Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water deployed support and logistics personnel into Wujal Wujal to work directly with council leadership to coordinate recovery efforts.
The Wujal Wujal operations team lost tools and equipment in the event. When recovery efforts in Douglas were complete, Urban Utilities unloaded an estimated $20,000 in tools, and the Australian Defence Force airlifted this equipment to the community.
Senior Seqwater operators have worked in Wujal Wujal for several months to support recovery operations and local operational staff.
Coogee Chemicals supplied 1000 litres of Sodium Hypochlorite as their contribution to the recovery of Wujal Wujal, which will assist in the recovery of the water and wastewater system.

Disaster recovery work in these communities is still ongoing. While the MACC played a pivotal role in the initial phase of recovery and reinstatement of essential services, restoring infrastructure and services with increased resilience takes time. To support this next phase, RDMW continues to lead key government agencies through the dedicated North Queensland Water Sector Recovery Coordination Group, established for the first time for this event.

Looking to the future

Once these activities wrap up, a debriefing workshop to review the activities of the MACC is planned. Learnings from this event will be used to prepare for the future deployment of these arrangements in Queensland, and lessons learnt will be shared with other states and jurisdictions. This is a powerful approach that all water utilities in Australia can benefit from.

For more information, visit: https://www.qldwater.com.au/