Qld dam diary too time consuming: engineer

An engineer has told the Queensland floods inquiry that keeping a contemporary record of water release strategies was "too time consuming".

But engineers are now following that practice and logging water-release strategies as flood events unfold.

Terry Malone, who was the third of four engineers to appear before the reopened inquiry at the Brisbane Magistrates Court, spent all but about 10 minutes on the stand on Sunday.

The final engineer to front the hearing, John Ruffini, answered only a few questions before the hearing was adjourned until 9am (AEST) on Monday.

Mr Malone said no run sheets detailing the exact time water-release strategies were activated last January were kept.

He said keeping a log on whether a low release (W1), transitional (W2) or a higher release strategy (W3) was being activated was difficult, since switching between each stage was a gradual process.

"It's not something we consciously think of in `oh, no we are moving from one strategy to another'. It's a gradual change," Mr Malone told the inquiry.

"It gets very messy if you write down `we are in W3, but my primary objectives have been met, therefore I will look at bridges'.

"We just don't do that. It's just too time consuming."

Mr Malone said an up-to-date run sheet is now being used at Wivenhoe Dam.

"It's not something we have done in the past, but it's a practice we are going to do in the future," Mr Malone said.

He said technical terms used for each water release strategy meant little, if anything, to anyone except the dam's operators until after Brisbane and Ipswich flooded.

Mr Malone even questioned if the State's Water Minister Stephen Robertson knew the difference between a W1 and a W3 release at the time.

"The use of strategies W1, W2, W3, W4, I would suggest that very little knew outside of the flood operation centre," Mr Malone said.

"I doubt whether he (Mr Robertson) would have understood what it was anyway."

He said the dam operators did the best they could in trying times.

"I believe we achieved the best possible outcome for the people of Brisbane," Mr Malone told the inquiry.

In another twist, Mr Malone admitted joking about signing his house over to his wife if a peer review of a dam operation report was bad.

Mr Malone's email exchange was with colleague John Tibaldi, who took the stand on day one, after he had informed him of "good news" about a peer review.

"Thanks for the advice as I was just about to sign the house over to my wife's name," Mr Malone wrote in the email the inquiry heard.

He said the email reply was in jest as he had no concerns about the report being anything but favourable.

The inquiry has been reopened to investigate allegations that the four engineers who controlled Wivenhoe Dam botched the water releases, caused unnecessary flooding and misled the inquiry over what strategies they employed.

It is also attempting to establish what water-release strategy was actually in use during the days before Brisbane and Ipswich flooded in the face of conflicting evidence as to which one was being used and when they were activated.

Two further days of hearings have been announced.

Justice Cate Holmes said counsel's final submissions would be made on Monday and Tuesday week, bringing to 11 the number of extra sitting days.

However, she said extending the hearing days would not affect her handing down the final report on March 16 - eight days before the state election.