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Big wet raises hopes of SEQ catchment boost

Soaking rain in parts of south-east Queensland has raised hopes of a boost to water storages, but more rain is needed to get the streams flowing into the catchments.

Parched soils have been soaking up rain since Sunday night and the combined total of the dams in south-east Queensland has hit 42 per cent, for the first time since March 2005.
Vivienne Laycock's Brisbane Valley property is near the head of Kippur and Cressbrook Creeks, which flow into Wivenhoe Dam.

She says they are not running but she is confident it will start soon.

"The water holes in the creek are at bed level now so with another four or five inches we'd be flowing," she said.

On the Darling Downs, James Willis says Reedy Creek is flowing into his property - but not yet out of it.

"Could be this morning that it's got past our block but it's still got a couple of kilometres to go before it gets to Cooby Dam," he said.

Some residents of the Downs are reporting more than 100 millimetres of rain this month.

- ABC

© ABC 2008

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Minister not surprised Wivenhoe accounts differ

20:29 EDT Queensland's Water Minister has told the inquiry into last January's flood disaster that he is not surprised about conflicting evidence on how Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam was operated.