In early 2022, the Ballina Shire Council found itself grappling with one of the most severe flood events in recent Australian memory. Facing unprecedented rainfall and rising water levels in the Northern Rivers region, Council turned to new data-collection technology to provide critical support to response and recovery efforts.
The 2022 flood event that struck the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales was extraordinary.
According to reporting at the time, the Richmond River peaked at Woodburn at 7.15 metres – almost two metres above its February 1954 peak of 5.42 metres.
Amid that crisis, Ballina Shire Council had just introduced Konect – a mobile data-collection and mapping platform that enables real-time asset tracking and reporting – late in 2021 and was still familiarising itself with the system.
Council’s Coordinator Geospatial Analytics, Jason Wadsworth, said, “We were looking for a tool that was intuitive, cost effective and able to be used across iOS and Android. We looked at a number of options, and Konect offered us exactly what we needed.”
From that point on, Ballina’s use of Konect evolved rapidly and deliberately to support flood recovery operations.
Rapid deployment and asset prioritisation
As the waters surged and assets were under threat, Council used Konect to identify and prioritise key infrastructure at risk.
“A major priority was understanding which of our many assets had been affected by the water. In particular, our critical pump stations, which were expensive to replace,” Wadsworth said.
“We were able to create a form in Konect that recorded flood levels and damage, but also captured photographs. All this proved invaluable not only in prioritising repairs, but also in dealing with the associated insurance claims.”
Having a tool in place that enabled field staff to easily record damage, geo-tag photographs, and attach metadata meant that Council could move from reactive to strategic decision-making far sooner.
Council used this immediate response phase to lay the groundwork for future events.
“We are now preparing a mobile, emergency environment in Konect that we can quickly deploy with all the forms pre-created. A major issue during the rain event was the breakdown of network communication,” he said.
“By having all the data synchronised on a mobile device prior to a future event, we can respond instantly, and capture everything we need without the need for an immediate upload.”
This approach, known as ‘offline-first’ mobile data collection, ensures that information can still be captured and stored on the device even when internet connectivity fails.
It’s a lesson in resilience: the system may need to operate without reliable connectivity.
Public contributions and insurance support
Another interesting dimension of Ballina’s approach was the inclusion of data captured by the public.
“The thing is, that with smart phones, the photo comes with a geo location and date and time tag. It meant that we could quickly add that to our Konect and our mapping system,” Wadsworth said.
He also pointed out a real-world outcome.
“We had one business who needed to have proof of flooding at their premises for their insurance company. By having time stamped data, we were able to precisely document the time and conditions of the event that affected them.”
Enabling and validating community-generated data can extend asset visibility, support residents in claims and recovery, and build transparency with the public.
Integration, scalability and ongoing value
Council is also planning to integrate Konect into its existing systems.
As Wadsworth explained, “Real time reporting and activity is the ultimate goal across all aspects of Council service. We can run reports, allocate jobs, detail trends and improve efficiencies across the board.”
“The ability for us to get information to and from the field is one of the main motivations for Council’s full support. Our field teams have always struggled to have information about assets and other details at their fingertips. To that end, Konect has been a significant benefit to both our teams, the Council and the public as a whole.”
When utilised effectively, mobile data-collection platforms become part of a broader asset-management, maintenance and emergency-response ecosystem. The cost-benefit goes beyond disaster recovery – it touches day-to-day operations and strategic planning.
Key lessons for councils
From the Ballina experience, councils can take away the following actionable insights:
- Select tools based on ease, cross-platform use and rapid deployment – Familiarity and first-use during a crisis matter.
- Pre-configure forms and plan for offline operation – If network fails, data capture must not.
- Prioritise critical assets early – Use geo-tagged field data to drive decision-making rather than waiting for full assessments.
- Leverage community-generated data – Encourage smartphone-derived imagery/time-stamps from residents to enrich your dataset.
- Integrate with broader systems – Link field-data tools into asset registers, compliance modules and job-management workflows to gain long-term value.
- Embed continuous improvement and preparedness – Turn immediate-response technologies into enduring capability for future events.
In the lead-up to and throughout the 2022 floods, Ballina Shire Council’s adoption of Konect demonstrates how a well-chosen data-collection platform can shift the narrative from reactive to proactive.
For local governments across Australia, the broader lesson is that the right tool deployed at the right time – and embedded into everyday operations – can make a substantial difference in resilience, efficiency and financial accountability. When disaster strikes, you want your ‘data engine’ ready.
