28 February 2012

Wivenhoe operators monitor flood levels

Wivenhoe Dam operators have opted not to ramp up water releases after levels failed to reach the expected height.

The dam was at almost 80 per cent capacity on Monday morning and rising, due to releases from the swollen Somerset Dam upstream.

Somerset Dam, north of Brisbane, is over capacity after several days of wild storms and flooding on the Sunshine Coast.

A Seqwater spokesman said the water in Wivenhoe did not reach the trigger point for larger releases as it was expected to do on Monday afternoon.

"The release strategy remains the same as this morning," he told AAP.

It means the bridge at Colleges Crossing at Ipswich remains open for now.

The Twin Bridges and Savages Crossing bridges may remain closed for up to a week.