Warragamba Dam Raising

To whom it may concern,
The Warragamba dam wall must not be raised. It would be an overwhelmingly bad outcome for the community.
Multiple reports and groups have all been saying the same thing—this project does not stack up. Financially, environmentally, from a disaster planning perspective; it is not worth it.
Proceeding with this plan will make it overwhelmingly obvious that the government makes decisions in the interests of property developers, not the community. Corruption is not looked upon kindly by history.
If the dam wall is raised however, much of our precious environment (much of which is recognised as having world heritage significance) will be consigned to history.
Meanwhile, the evidence is clear that the plan will not prevent extreme flooding events from affecting existing residents.
There is no measure upon which this plan makes sense to proceed with. Common sense and an appeal to conserving what we value as a community must prevail. The dam wall must not be raised.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am dismayed that this project is being progressed.

The impact on the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park will be significant and the idea of excising an area to suit the development is dodgy, sharp practice, certainly not good governance.
We need to better manage our drinking water needs and to not develop in flood prone areas. There has been so much evidence this year of flooding that future development in such areas should be stopped.
Yours sincerely,

Sat 3/12/2022 @ 4:42 AM
I strongly oppose the dam wall being raised. You think you are putting people befire plants but what you are really doing is diminishing the Australian environment for everyone. YOu have wrecked enough of Australia and NSW. Please desist.


Sat 26/11/2022 @ 9:33 AM
I am concerned by this NSW Government's disregard for our unque Australian environment, one example being the toing and froing over koala habitat. Please dont raise the Waragamba Dam wall - the results will be irreparable forever.

To whom it may concern,
I strongly object to the NSW Government plans to change the boundaries to National Parks in the Blue Mountains World heritage area and further flooding of wild rivers. This will not only impact the natural habitat of a signifincant World Heritage region uniquely situated on Sydney's doorstep but also potentially affect tourism to the area and the livelihoods of many living in this region.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
Please protect the wilderness and heritage areas of the Blue Mountains by NOT raising the wall height of the Warragamba Dam.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
The raising of Warragamba dam is appalling policy. I will not support any government who supports this dinosaur-brained policy.
The NSW Government has an opportunity to develop new ways of thinking and demonstrate how it can work with the environment, not against it. Global warming is showing that nature will ultimately have the last laugh.
Raising the dam wall with inundate significant natural and cultural areas. I am not indigenous but I identify with their culture of living with the land, not exploiting it. I have walked in much of the country that will be affected and it is priceless in its beauty and natural state. It cannot be destroyed forever just to savour the appetite for more water supply (yes it will ultimately be used to "drought-proof" Sydney) and the appetite for developers to make a quick buck. Losing World Heritage status will also affect employment in the mountains and NSW in general and demonstrate to the world that we are not equipped to manage this asset.
To address the downstream flood concerns, the best way to deal with this is to not build on a flood plain. Government is deliberately planning to place people at peril in order to supply cheap, if not downright dangerous, housing. Towns and houses have been moved before (Gundagai and Grantham). Use the allocated funds to relocate homes and businesses or provide infrastructure that may save them from flooding (levies, etc). Think smarter and demonstrate that we can live in and with the environment and not just destroy it for the short term gain of some wealthy and misguided people.
Don't raise the wall and save a unique place for generations to come.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
The concept of raising the dam wall is a knee jerk reaction to current weather cycles. We've been told that raising the wall well give 14m of airspace however Mr Perrotet has said it will give additional storage. There are too many negatives and this government and subsequent governments will toss this ball around for the next 10 years costing us billions before it's even off the ground. We need an immediate solution and a well thought out and agreed upon plan for the future.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
The report's aim is to justify world heritage destruction

The report has ignored issues raised in expert and thousands of community submissions.
The report states the NSW government will ignore the advice of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by changing the boundaries of the Blue Mountains National Park World Heritage Area.
The report dismisses serious concerns raised by Sydney Water and Health NSW about the effects the project would have on Sydney's drinking water quality.
The report discounts the extent of the destruction of World Heritage and National Parks. Within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. 65 km of wilderness rivers and 1300 km of National Parks would be inundated by the dam project. An additional 4,500 of National Parks would be inundated by the dam project This includes
The Kowmung River - declared a ‘Wild River’, protected for its pristine condition under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974;
• Unique eucalyptus species diversity recognised as having Outstanding Universal Value under the area’s World Heritage listing such as the Camden White Gum;
• A number of Threatened Ecological Communities, notably Grassy Box Woodland;
• Habitat for endangered and critically endangered species including the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
Impact on Traditional Owners

The report disregards the concerns of traditional owners, for example not including information about sacred sites that would be flooded. Over 1541 identified cultural heritage sites would be inundated by the dam proposal.
The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Report did not properly assess cultural heritage or engage in meaningful consultation with Gundungurra people. This report has been repeatedly criticised by the Australian Department of the Environment and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

Alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam walls were dismissed
• There are alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall that would protect existing floodplain communities. A combined approach of multiple options has been recommended as the most cost-effective means of flood risk mitigation.
• Alternative options and their economic benefits were not assessed in the EIS.
• On average, 45% of floodwaters are derived from areas outside of the upstream Warragamba Dam catchment. This means that no matter how high the dam wall is constructed, it will not be able to prevent flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley downstream.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am a resident of Sydney with a deep personal connection to the Blue Mountains wilderness. I wish to again make a submission to oppose your plans to raise the Warragamba Dam walls.
I understand the pressure the government is under from residents, developers and insurance companies in the flood plain around the Hawkesbury Nepean River, to raise the walls to protect against flooding.
But raising the walls will not prevent all flooding events as the effects of climate change worsen. There will still be floods. What raising the walls will do is give a false sense of security and encourage more inappropriate and unsafe development in the flood plain.

What is needed is better planning and infrastructure development for the homes, farms and businesses already in the area to enable a better response to flood events.
It is extremely disappointing, but unfortunately entirely predictable, that the government is pushing ahead with this ill conceived plan, ignoring both expert advice and the strongly expressed objections from the community, ahead of the March 2023 election to secure votes in these electorates.
The damage to valuable wilderness, threatened species and priceless Aboriginal cultural sites have all been well documented and in the past have led to the suspension of this ill-conceived plan.
The benefits to residents simply do not outweigh the risks to our natural and cultural assets, which as always loose out to the power of money and politics.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
The raising of the Warrangamba dam wall is an idea that will be dangerous to humans and damaging to the environment.
Flooding rains are increasing in ferocity...holding back these huge amounts of water will not be a secure way to manage this phenomena. Waters need to disperse into smaller, safer avenues. The breaking or overspilling of the huge amount of water proposed is always possible. We don't know the extent of climate change rainfall in the future.
The upstream environment and riverflow changes will damage the environment and animal habitat irreparably. Conservation of our remaining river systems is imperative to save our native flora and fauna.
Redirect the water and store it in local useful smaller dams...but do not carry through with this proposal. Which encourages development and settlement on a hazardous flood plain.
This proposal must be rejected.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I continue to oppose the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall as a previous Sydney resident for over 40 years. I have enjoyed many casual and overnight stays in the Blue Mountains area and am keenly aware of how unique and sacred the entire area is. I'm no scientist and feel no need to repeat what has already been reported, but this is clearly one moment of opportunity for common sense, strength and courage to be applied. Not just to protect and preserve but to prove that human ingenuity and creativity can provide solutions for current endeavours without irreversible destruction of natural habitat and cultural heritage. This is the time to show our children what remains of the natural environment is actually worth to us and what we are prepared to sacrifice in order honour and protect it.
Yours sincerely,

Fri 2/12/2022 @ 10:58 PM
This proposal is a direct violation of Australia’s commitment to care for the environment. If the New South Wales Government goes ahead with its plans it will be remembered in history for this wicked action.

Sat 26/11/2022 @ 4:42 AM
My voice is one among thousands who have already expressed opposition to this project. Raising the height of this dam will destroy forever huge swathes of important native forest and the home for the fauna our government has a duty to protect.
Please honestly search and find other alternatives to the indiscriminate and greedy development of more housing in the outer regions of Sydney.

To whom it may concern,
It seems that the NSW Government is not listening to what the community have to say. We don't want the Warragamba Dam wall raised and our Blue Mountains flooded. Reports and studies have shown that the flooding upstream of the dam if it were raised would have irreversible, detrimental effects on the ecosystem and would threaten the survival of the flora and fauna that thrive there.

The NSW Government appears yet again to be driven by the prospect of money (and the incessant lobbying of developers) by opening up floodplains for development. If the NSW Government truly wanted to prevent flooding of the Nepean area as a matter of safety for residents, they wouldn't support the development of floodplains that would only put more people in harm's way.
I am lucky enough to call the Blue Mountains my home and I strongly oppose anything that would harm this beautiful, natural environment. I also have many friends that live in the Nepean area that are against these plans and see through the "flood mitigation" claims of raising the dam wall. Raising the wall will not solve the problem, it will only cause more.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I wish to vehemently oppose the raising of the Warragamba dam, citing the following reasons:
The report has again disregarded the concerns of Traditional Owners, not including important information about sacred sites that would be flooded.
Over 1541 identified cultural heritage sites would be inundated by the Dam proposal.
The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report has been severely and repeatedly criticised by both the Australian Department of Environment and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) for not appropriately assessing cultural heritage in meaningful consultation with Gundungurra community members.
There are alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall that would protect existing floodplain communities. A combined approach of multiple options has been recommended as the most cost-effective means of flood risk mitigation.
Alternative options were not assessed in the EIS. No Any assessment of alternatives does not take into account the economic benefits that would offset the initial cost of implementation.
On average, 45% of floodwaters are derived from areas outside of the upstream Warragamba Dam catchment. This means that no matter how high the dam wall is constructed, it will not be able to prevent flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley downstream.
Please don't be so shortsighted. Govern with our ancestors in mind and heart. This plan is not right.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am opposed to the Warragamba Dam raising Project because it wiil destroy world heritage area and national parks. I have been bushwalking in the Blue Mountains area and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
The report has attempted to downplay the destruction of World Heritage and National Parks. An estimated 65 kilometres of wilderness rivers, and 5,700 hectares of National Parks, 1,300 hectares of which is within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, would be inundated by the Dam project. This includes:
• The Kowmung River - declared a ‘Wild River’, protected for its pristine condition under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974;
• Unique eucalyptus species diversity recognised as having Outstanding Universal Value under the area’s World Heritage listing such as the Camden White Gum;
• A number of Threatened Ecological Communities, notably Grassy Box Woodland;
• Habitat for endangered and critically endangered species including the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
• There are alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall that would protect existing floodplain communities. A combined approach of multiple options has been recommended as the most cost-effective means of flood risk mitigation.
• Alternative options were not assessed in the EIS. No Any assessment of alternatives does not take into account the economic benefits that would offset the initial cost of implementation.
• On average, 45% of floodwaters are derived from areas outside of the upstream Warragamba Dam catchment. This means that no matter how high the dam wall is constructed, it will not be able to prevent flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley downstream.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,

The project would be destructive to this World Heritage area. The Traditional Owners have been ignored. Alternatives to raising the Dam wall should be considered, and I beg you to do that, for the sake of the environment and our wildlife.
Present and future generations will be immensely grateful for your consideration of the alternatives.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I wish to object to the proposed raising of Warragamba Dam wall as it will be detrimental in many cases and will not really fix the problem. The problem has partly been caused by allowing the building of houses on floodplain and changing this is the main priority. To raise the dam wall will damage the magnificent Blue Mountains National Park, it will destroy Aboriginal sites and it will affect the conservation of endangered aimals and plants, especially the Regent Honeyeater.
Yours sincerely,

I object to this project on environmental, cultural, and social reasons. Raising the wall of the dam will damage ecologically sensitive areas, destroy important Indigenous cultural sites, and provide benefits only to the developers who will make money from being able to build houses on flood plains. Making this decision on purely economic reasons is terribly short-sighted. As has been noted by groups such as the Blue Mountains Conservation Society, twice as many people on the floodplain would be put at risk than would be potentially protected by raising the wall. It will not provide the flood risk protection that is claimed.

Please do not approve this project.

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to oppose the Warragamba Dam project. This new report severely downplays the effects of upstream inundation, which would endanger countless plant and animal species, destroy Sydney’s last wild river - the mighty Kowmung - and risk the Blue Mountains World Heritage Listing itself. please do not allow this to happen.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I was married in 1975 and moved to the above address from Coogee beach. We raised 5 children in the house, and I have lived there for 47 years , so I can say I know the area well.
I feel that such a hugh development will be detrimental initially to Mulgoa Road ( two flat tyres in two weeks in August 2022 to my car!). Increased traffic will play havoc with our travelling time to and from work in Penrith daily (selfish on our part). On the other hand we employ 4 people and my husband has been practising Law for 55 years. He was born in Penrith in 1944 so I would say he knows the area well too!
In 1975-1985 we would regularly see echidnas, wombats long necked turtles, perenties, eagles, koalas, kangaroos, finches and wrens on our property. As the years have passed the wildlife has diminished drastically.
We do not want the dam wall lifted because we know that the habitate of thousands of animal will be destroyed. We would like our grandchildren to experience what we have in this beautiful area.
Yours sincerely,