Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of Tasmanian agriculture and welcomes technology to improve yields, minimise losses and make farming safer.
Congratulations to Hydro Tasmania on the development of a new water level alerts notifications system that is now available to water users in the Derwent Valley.
The alerts are based on remote sensors installed by Hydro Tasmania along the river which delivers customised SMS, email and text-to-speech messages about changing water levels.
Hydro Tasmania has been working with local users to improve the product using their feedback.
While this system does not replace the Bureau of Meteorology's Flood Watch alerts or emergency services, it provides valuable information for water users about significant changes to Hydro Tasmania's operations that may affect users downstream.
This new water alerts system is a great adaption of technology to help limit flooded pumps, damaged infrastructure and crop damage when rivers levels fluctuate unexpectedly
It also has the added feature of benefiting recreation enthusiasts, like kayakers, canoeist and anglers, who are seeking more information about river flows.
While the current water alert system is only operating on the Derwent and Ouse rivers, there are plans to expand to other catchments including the Mersey-Forth, King, South Esk and Pieman rivers during the next two years.
Once again, congratulations to Hydro Tasmania for developing this water level alerts system and we look forward to seeing the benefits flowing across the state in coming years.
