Byron Shire Flood Update – 1:00pm Wednesday 30 March
Residents and businesses in many parts of the Byron Shire, especially Byron Bay and Suffolk Park, have been affected by flooding with heavy rainfall across the region overnight.
Rainfall figures released by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) show Coopers Shoot recorded 319mm of rain to 9am this morning (30 March 2022) with 282mm at Byron Bay.
A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall and thunderstorms remains in place.
Moderate flooding is also possible along the Brunswick River at Mullumbimby and along the Marshalls Creek at Billinudgel early this afternoon.
All available Council staff are at work, although many have also been impacted by the rain and flooding.
For links to all the latest information from the SES, BoM and Council go to our Emergency Dashboard.
Our Facebook page has loads of information as well.
Roads
At 11:30 am, we have 37 reported road closures and a significant number of flood cautions issued across our network in Byron Shire.
The M1 is closed southbound at Tyagarah.
Significant flash flooding has been experienced in the Byron town centre and industrial estate.
The flash flooding experienced in Lawson, Jonson Street and surrounds has been unprecedented. Traffic controls have been in place since early this morning.
Shirley Street is closed at Kendall Street and Ewingsdale Road is closed near Belongil Bridge at Sunrise Boulevard, police are on the scene.
We also have a landslip reported at Broken Head Road near the Coast Road and emergency services have been on site this morning. There is another landslip reported at Bangalow Road that remains inaccessible to emergency services.
Suffolk Park experienced significant flash flooding overnight, a number of roads remain cut off here.
New Brighton Road is closed near the intersection of Redgate Road.
The majority of our major hinterland roads remain cut off and inaccessible, with crews unable to further inspect the damage in these areas. We have been advised by locals a new landslip has occurred at Wilsons Creek Road. We will provide updates on this when they come to hand.
We’ve received reports of a number of trees down, blocking roads across our network, many in areas we are still unable to access.
Evacuation Centres
The Cavanbah Centre Byron Bay was opened as an Evacuation Centre this morning by the lead agencies (Department of Communities and Justice and Northern Rivers NSW SES).
We are aware getting to the Cav is a challenge at the moment because of road closures. Check MyRoadInfo to see what roads are open and closed.
Water and Sewer
All available staff are working on the water and sewer network across the Shire.
Any urgent problems with water, sewer and drainage should be reported to our Depot staff on 02 6685 9300.
Non-urgent problems can be reported via Report It on our website.
Drinking water and water for household use
There is currently no problem with water supply in the Byron Shire and the water is safe to drink and for household use.
Our water treatment plant at Mullumbimby is still off-line but we have enough water reserved and we have also turned on the emergency connection to the Rous County Council water supply.
There are no water restrictions but we do ask that people use water sparingly until the flood water recedes and operations return to normal.
Sewer
Heavy rain yesterday and overnight is continuing to have an impact on our sewer system and our network is under pressure from the large amount of water flowing into pump stations around the Shire.
Staff are doing all they can but they can’t get to some sites because of flooding. Once the rain stops and water subsides we will get to all the affected areas.
Stormwater
Everyone should stay out of stormwater. This is the water in the streets and coming up through the drains.
Stormwater is dirty and often contaminated with sewer run-off and other substances that are harmful to our health.
For more information about the danger of stormwater go to the NSW Health website.
Waste
Due to the severe weather and issues with access, Byron Resource Recovery Centre, the tip, is closed today.
Kerbside bins will be collected on your normal bin collection day. There may be some delay to collections if access has been limited due to road closure and flooding.
Flooding through Byron township has resulted in multiple vehicles getting inundated and large quantities of floating rubbish. This area will be a primary focus for our crews clean-up once water levels drop.
Areas that we have not been able to collect are:
· Byron Industrial Estate
· Skinners Shoot Road
· Shirley Lane
Flood recovery clean-up is on hold.
Visit Flood clean up and waste for more information.
