Hawkesbury Independent IND 156 May 2023 | Page 7

LOCAL LIFE

NSW Government abandons the Hawkesbury by

refusing to raise Warragamba Dam wall

Hawkesbury City Council Mayor Sarah McMahon is speaking out about the NSW Government ’ s decision not to raise the wall of Warragamba Dam , despite the extensive flood damage experienced by the Hawkesbury community over several floods since 2020 .

“ It is an outrage . Now that the State Government has confirmed they will not raise the Warragamba Dam wall , they must come and meet with us here face to face to tell us what they plan on doing to mitigate the effects of future floods in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley ,” Mayor McMahon said .

A Mayoral Minute was passed at Council ’ s Meeting recently , requesting that the NSW Premier come to the Hawkesbury to discuss this significant infrastructure project , along with other outstanding flood related issues .

“ I am asking the NSW Premier to visit the Hawkesbury personally and tell us that in absence of raising the dam wall , what are his plans to lessen the impact of the devastating floods that our community will no doubt face again ,” Mayor McMahon said .

“ The priority for the State Government should not just be about protecting what ’ s upstream of Warragamba Dam , but crucially , protecting the environment , people , animals and property , that are downstream . Without any plan , our community faces neglect by this government , despite their significant duty of care to assist us .

“ The Premier ’ s current proposal , of investing in levy banks and evacuation routes alone , is not the golden ticket . The NSW Government remains silent on what they will do to protect our vulnerable community , which equates to simply abandoning us , despite comprehensively knowing about how disastrous the recent floods have been in the Hawkesbury , of which many residents have not yet recovered .

“ Of even greater concern , is that the new State Government has ignored the figures from Infrastructure NSW , which demonstrate that raising the dam wall would have decreased flood levels by around 3-4 metres in Windsor and reduced the impacts by 70 per cent ,” she said . “ Infrastructure NSW has the Hawkesbury identified as one of the highest risk areas for floods in NSW – which of late , we have all seen to be true . The consequences of the State Government ’ s bad decision here , where they have ignored the experts , are enormous for our community and we need answers right now , not when the next flood hits us .

“ Development also keeps happening across Western Sydney , yet in the Hawkesbury , we seem to suffer from the impacts of this development in terms of water runoff , which also adds to the bathtub effect of our unique catchment . Here in the Hawkesbury- Nepean Valley , narrow downstream sandstone gorges between Sackville and Brooklyn create natural choke points . Floodwaters therefore back up and rise rapidly , causing deep and widespread flooding across the floodplain . This acts much like a bathtub with five taps ( the major tributaries ) turned on , but with only one plug hole to let the water out .

“ We have spent years educating our community about this , as well as the dangers and effects of flooding in our Local Government Area . The NSW Government now wants to ignore these dangers and leave our community at significant risk ,” Mayor McMahon added .

“ Perhaps we also need to educate the new NSW Government as well . Premier Chris Minns , I invite you to come to the Hawkesbury immediately , let us show you the damage still evident everywhere in the Hawkesbury and ask that , if you refuse to raise the dam wall , what will you do to mitigate the high flood risk in the Hawkesbury .”

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THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 156 // MAY 2023 7