Optimising the operations of the Kanaka Drain floodgate

Abstract

The Kanaka Drain Flood Gate is installed in an artificially constructed channel that has the potential to mitigate the effects of significant storm events for Brandon, a small town upstream. The Kanaka Drain is constructed between two lagoons that, prior to the drain's construction acted interpedently. The drain was constructed in the early 1900s by Australian Immigrates to assist in the development of the sugar plantations of Ayr, North Queensland. The Kanaka drain has been the subject of a number of engineering studies both directly and indirectly due to the concerns of local residents and the impacts it causes to storm flooding. The most recent study conducted in the 2001 highlighted that the actuation of a gate installed along the drain could hold significant benefits for all parties concerned in times of intense rainfall. There this study seeks to determine a gate operational strategy for the floodgate that the local authority, Burdekin Shire Council, can use to mitigate the affects of local flooding.