Using sonar and recycling to clean up flood debris
The EPA has moved into the next phase of this year's flooding clean-up to protect boaties and other water users. We’re using sonar technology and recycling of debris to aid the effort.
Crews are relying on soundwaves to find dangerous underwater and hidden flood debris in rivers in northern NSW and western Sydney.
Our contractors are using sonar technology, which emits pulses of soundwaves to detect submerged objects.
The returning echoes create a dataset that can be turned into an image of the shape and size of the item on the riverbed.
Transport for NSW and OceanWatch have collectively identified 13 priority areas in the Hawkesbury area.
EPA flood recovery manager Martin Puddey said contractors were mapping using the device mounted on a boat on the Hawkesbury River until the middle of June.
“Our contractors are now surveying other locations with the device on the North Coast, around the Tweed, Richmond and Clarence rivers,” he said.
“More than 6,800 cubic metres of flood debris has been removed from NSW shorelines since the beginning of March.
“That's almost three Olympic swimming pools of debris and about 5,000 cubic metres of that has just come out of the Hawkesbury."
Flood recovery focuses on reuse and recycling of debris
Our flood recovery and response has an underlying objective to reuse or recycle as much of the flood debris collected as possible to minimise this being sent to landfill.
Natural debris washed into rivers can pose a navigational hazard. Our contractors Northern Rivers Marine Services separated this debris at our waste staging area, and it is being mulched and returned to local councils and land groups for community landscaping.
Gas cylinders of many sizes are a big part of the waste collected, coming from homes and caravan parks during the floods. Most of the gas cylinders are in good repair and are sent back to the factories such as BOC to be refurbished and reused.