The future of life-saving creek alerts delivered to Brisbane residents remains in limbo after the Federal Government rejected another request for funding.
The Bureau of Meteorology will end support for its Enviromon service from mid-2026.
Enviromon enables real-time safety alerts to be issued by local governments, providing automatic creek level notifications during weather events.
For a city built on a floodplain with 4000 kilometres of waterways, real-time data is essential to keep residents prepared during severe weather.
Just yesterday, it issued three alerts about water levels rising in our suburbs during a severe weather event.
The Schrinner Council has worked extensively to secure an alternative and sought funding from the Albanese Government.
In March 2024, Council applied to the Federal Government to jointly fund the approximate $500,000 cost to enhance flood forecasting software through the Disaster Ready Fund (round 2).
The Federal Government rejected the application in August 2024.
Council again applied for the third round of the Federal Government’s Disaster Ready Fund in April 2025.
This request was rejected just last week.
This setback comes despite revelations that the Bureau of Meteorology spent almost $100 million on a new website that does less than it did previously.
The Government now says councils should fund flood-warning infrastructure, despite funding information sharing through Enviromon for nearly 30 years.
After the repeated funding knock-backs, the only direction provided by the Federal Government to Council has been to use the Bureau’s free 15-minute website updates or to buy its own software.
As a result, today we will be writing to all Brisbane’s Federal Labor MPs.
Many of these MPs represent some of the most flood-impacted areas in Queensland.
Suburban creeks such as Norman Creek and Kedron Brook can rise in as little as 15 minutes during intense rain, which happened in 2022.
This year alone there have been 262 flood alerts issued, which have in turn delivered hundreds of thousands of messages with critical timely flood information directly to Brisbane households.
That’s why Council needs real-time flood monitoring so residents can act fast and stay safe.
Council remains prepared for severe weather with 84 flood cameras, more than 520 SES volunteers, and more than 230,000 residents subscribed to Brisbane City Council’s Severe Weather Alerts.
We’ve stocked more than 130,000 sandbags, cleared drains and trimmed trees as part of our summer storm preparedness.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
“BOM’s Enviromon software has been ensuring councils get access to real-time creek and river data for 30 years.
“Real-time data saves lives when our local creeks can rise in as little as 15 minutes during heavy rain.
“Yesterday’s storm reinforced the importance of being prepared and the value of our city’s flood alert system.
“It’s incredibly disappointing BOM has decided to stop supporting the Enviromon software without an equivalent replacement, despite its vital importance.
“Many of Brisbane’s Federal MPs represent some of the most-flood impacted areas in Queensland and their residents rely on these alerts.
“I am hopeful these MPs will join us in advocating for the continuation of this essential service to ensure Brisbane remains prepared and protected during future storms.”
Quotes attributable to Civic Cabinet Chair for Environment, Parks and Sustainability Tracy Davis:
“It has now been revealed the Government spent nearly $100 million on a botched new Bureau website that does less than it did previously.
“Now the Federal Government has rejected our latest request to help fund an equivalent to the Enviromon service they have provided for the past 30 years.
“This flies in the face of the thousands of Brisbane residents who rely on timely alerts during a flood.
“The Government’s decision creates unnecessary risk for communities and undermines long-standing disaster-management arrangements.
“We’ve written, called and pushed for action, but Canberra keeps telling councils to sort it out ourselves.
“This is cost-shifting with potentially dire consequences.”
