Ibis Dam Emergency Action Plan

Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

In the extremely unlikely event that Ibis Dam fails, it is important that people living in Irvinebank and surrounding areas know what to do. Ibis Dam supplies non-potable water to the Irvinebank reservoirs which is managed by the Irvinebank progress association. In an emergency dam failure situation, everyone has a responsibility for their own safety.

Mareeba Shire Council tests the emergency sirens on a quarterly basis and, as the owner of Ibis Dam, has a legislative requirement to maintain an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). The Ibis Dam EAP explains roles and responsibilities, communication procedures and dam specific emergency scenarios including how people who live immediately downstream of the dam will be told about a dam emergency.

The EAP is approved by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water. The approved version is published on their website:

https://www.rdmw.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1619721/ibis-eap.pdf

Evacuation Siren Testing

The target schedule for testing is quarterly, with activation planned to occur at 10:00am, the test alarm will sound for 10 seconds. Community messaging will be distributed leading up each test.

Residents are not required to take any evacuation action in response to the test siren. Council does, however, encourage residents to familiarise themselves with the evacuation procedures and their individual emergency action plan.

In the case of an actual emergency event, the evacuation warning can be recognised by the continuous sounding of sirens. When this is heard residents should immediately implement their individual evacuation plans or alternatively, evacuate to the assembly points located at the school or the rural fire brigade shed.

In some instances, such as overtopping of the dam, an early warning signal may sound for 20 seconds. This means that residents should remain on alert in the event that they may need to evacuate and the local Emergency Action Plan Officer will notify residents of the situation.

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this matter further, please direct your enquiry to Council’s Emergency Disaster Department on 1300 308 461.