Warragamba Dam Raising

To whom it may concern,
I do not believe that raising the dam wall will result in no floods the western suburbs. It’s just for developers to make money and it’s wrong. The loss of natural habitat and losing the indigenous land will have far greater impact on the beautiful blue mountains. Please do not raise the wall, instead, buy back the land and houses that will still flood in future and do not allow any infrastructure on the flood plains.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I wish to express my dismay at the NSW government's intention to ignore the advice and opinion of experts and common citizens alike who oppose the raise of the Warragamba dam.
The reasons not to go ahead with the project were laid clearly in previous submissions from various private concerned citizens and bodies that were not properly addressed should be considered before continuing the project.
To name a few, the destruction of thousands of hectares of National Parks, inundation of more than 1,500 cultural heritage sites, and the risk to the quality of Sydney's drinking water quality.
The alternatives to raising the dam would mean controlling flood waters without compromising World Heritage areas and a better chance at actually preventing floods as raising the dam is not guaranteed to provide the solution.
Please consider us, the people whom you serve and want to care for, when we ask that you change the way you deal with flooding risks to the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
Yours sincerely,

I do not think that te Warragamba Dam should be raised because this would not solve the problem of flooding downstream. It would be very destructive in a World Heritage area, both of flora and fauna and of aboriginal sites.I am not aboriginal but I under stand why Aboriginal people are worried about this. I haves lived in the Blue Mountains for most of my life and enjoyed bushwalking for many years. Scientific evidence does not support any benefit that the raising of the wall will bestow.

Dear Mr Pairoftits
Please leave out beautiful Warragamba Dam Alone!
You have absolutely no right to raise our dam.
Its not your dam or your Delevoper Mates
Election in March i would be thinking about that Mr Pairoftits
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
For multiple reasons, all plans to raise the height of the Warragamba Dam wall MUST be halted immediately.
Yours sincerely,

Object to the proposal
To whom it may concern,
Please do not raise the dam. 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.
The report wanting to raise the dam 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.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
The wall height of Warragamba dam must not be increased. Please do not increase the height of the Warragamba dam wall. I'm against an increase in the height of Warragamba dam.
im a Bushwalker who walks and camps in the blue mountains National parks including the kowmong river area. The flora and fauna is unique and needs to be kept for NSW future. Do not destroy these heritage listed areas.
It's a special place for First Nations people and has cultural significance please do not ignore First Nations people.
Do not allow the building of residential properties on flood plains.
Please do not publish my email or my residential address.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern, the environment is a future and you are focused on the present please respect the environment and do due diligence once it's gone it won't come back
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
Once again, I protest against the proposal to raise the wall of Warragamba Dam on the following grounds:
• The proposal report has all but dismissed the concerns raised in 2,500 community and government agency submissions to the initial EIS in 2021, and in some cases expert submissions were not even addressed
• The report has announced NSW Government intention's to ignore the advice of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by changing the boundaries of the Blue Mountains National Park World Heritage Area.
• The serious concerns held by Sydney Water and Health NSW about the effects the dam project would have on Sydney's drinking water quality have been dismissed in the report.
• 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:
o The Kowmung River - declared a ‘Wild River’, protected for its pristine condition under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974;
o Unique eucalyptus species diversity recognised as having Outstanding Universal Value under the area’s World Heritage listing such as the Camden White Gum;
o A number of Threatened Ecological Communities, notably Grassy Box Woodland;
o Habitat for endangered and critically endangered species including the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
o
 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.
You ignore the fact that we are going to have a State Election in March 2023. I refuse to vote for a policial party that plans to increase the height of Warragamba Dam.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
Hi my name is Nick Baldas and I am an Australian citizen and I live in New South Wales.

I am writing to OPPOSE the submission to raise the Warragamba Dam.

I oppose the raising of the dam mainly because I do not wish to see the rivers upstream from the dam destroyed.

All these delicate ecosystems with their endangered flora and flora (and insects) will be damaged beyond repair. Many will be lost forever,

Have you carried out environmental impact studies? Are their species of flora and fauna/insects species endangered in the area?

(Grassy Box Woodland - Regent Honey Eater - Sydney's last Emu Population )

There is also the question of Indigenouse cultural sights to take into consideration. Are there indigenous cultural sights that will be damaged or lost with the raising of the dam?

(1541 identified indigenouse Australian cultural heritage sites)

Is it also wise to allow construction on floodplains downstream from the Dam? Look at the recent floods happening across New South Wales.

I love the Blue Mountains and visit them often. This World Heritage area needs to be protected and I hope that you will not raise the dam and keep our rivers safe.
Thank You

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I oppose the idea of raising the Warragamba dam wall.
I grew up in the Blue Mountains and spent much of my childhood exploring the national parks and enjoying the flora and fauna.
I am disappointed that the NSW government would think of allowing and harm to come to the wildlife and communities in this area.
Please reconsider this reckless decision
There are proven alternatives to raising the dam wall.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
As a resident of the Beautiful Blue Mountains, I wish to oppose the raising of the Warragamba Dam. Raising the dam will have negative impacts on the World Heritage area and out of respect for the little preserved natural environment left and Traditional owners of this region I implore you to oppose any further raising of the Dam wall.
High residential areas below a dam wall is not and never was long term planning and the flood plains of this area have many tributaries contributing to the floods of recent years and raising the dam will not help this.
For the sake of our precious environment vs development, please oppose further devistation to our Beautiful Blue Mountains Heritage area.
Yours sincerely,

Raising the dam wall will cause irreparable damage the the World Heritage are (Blue Mountains NP) and to sacred Aboriginal sites. Not to mention loss of habitat for many endangeroud fauna and flora species. How about the government gets realistic and stops people building in the flood planes of the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers.

To whom it may concern,
I'm writinh to say that I oppose the Warragamba Dam Rasising Project.
I think that advice from traditional owners should be heeded.
I think that the boundaries to National Parks should not be shifted along with shifting political/ business interests. And if anything, park borders should be expanded rather than reduced.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I opose the raising the dam wall as it will do irrepairable damage to the environment and risks the Blue Mountains World Heritage listing, which was given for a reason. The project will benefit a few developers, but ignores widespread Community wishes and ignores the Traditional Owners
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am appalled by the continued blind bulldozer approach of People Not Plants Perrottet who is intent on destroying environmental and cultural heritage with the greedy plan to raise the height of the wall.
You know it is wrong. It is a plan based on a lie.
The $2Billion dollars plus this environmental disaster will cost could be used to buy out the 1500 property owners who currently have the misfortune to live in the flood plain area this development will "protect".
It could be used to promote population growth in our under funded regional areas and help build a critical mass of missing resources in those areas. This would alleviate the continued population pressure on the Sydney basin.
It could be used to develop downstream flood mitigation and public and private infrastructure resilience measures.
But no. We proceed by a plan based on a lie promoted by a premier who does not seem to understand - (and yes, personal affront follows) the population pressures Sydney faces even at a personal level.
You know it is wrong. It is a plan based on a lie. It cannot be allowed to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I oppose raising the Warragamba Dam wall on the following grounds:
Flood mitigation can already be achieved via the current dam wall height. 45% of floodwaters are derived from areas outside of the upstream Warragamba Dam catchment. Raising the dam wall is a futile and costly way of achieving nothing meaningful in terms of flood prevention.
Development on the flood plain should not be allowed to continue at this rate - this overdevelopment is driving the push to raise the dam wall. Flood plains are for growing food, not for medium density housing developments.
It threatens the flora and fauna - including the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater - that will be flooded out of existance and therefore puts the status of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area under threat - it has already suffered incredible losses from the 2019-20 bushfires.
About 65km of wild rivers and 5700 hectares of National Park (1300 in the World Heritage Area) would be inundated by the Dam project
It will flood Aboriginal sacred sites - over 1541 identified cultural heritage sites would be inundated. The Gundungurra community members have not been consulted in a meaningful way and their concerns have been brushed aside.
I have resided in the Blue Mountains since 2003 and moved here for the access to bushwalks and for the natural beauty of this place. It is unacceptable to trade off pristine wilderness for the sake of overdevelopment on the floodplain.
The project cannot be justified and it appears to be develop driven. It is unacceptable to destroy pristine wilderness and Aboriginal sacred sites in order to overdevelop a flood plain - where food could be growing. It is particularly unacceptable when raising the wall won't even prevent flooding anyway. It's a waste of taxpayer money that could be used for far more valuable projects.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
Do not raise the dam level and allow destruction of ecosystems for the sake of housing property developers, thanks for listening
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am opposed to raising the wall of Warragamba Dam.
It will not solve the problem of river flooding downstream because it relies on there being sufficient time intervals between floods for the captured water to be slowly released. What happens if the dam is still relatively full when another flood event occurs?
Capturing muddy floodwater to mix with clear drinking water in the dam will block and cause problems with Sydney Water's fliters as is reportedly happening right now in November 2022.
The Warragamba River is one of several rivers which flow into the Nepean-Hawkesbury River system. Capturing flood water in Warragamba Dam alone will not make a big difference to the amount of floodwater which flows downstream to the floodplains.
Houses should not have been built on the downstream floodplains and definitely should not continue to be built.
A better approach would be to open up "The Choke" in the Hawkesbury river near Sackville, to allow floodwaters to escape to the sea more easily. The sandstone ridges which form the S-bends in the narrow gorge section of the river could be cut open to make btpass channels; or tunnels could be dug underneath the ridges. This is the sort of innovative thinking which we need.
I am a bushwalker and I have walked and camped along the beautiful untouched Kowmung River. It is on a par with the Franklin River in Tasmania for its wild beauty. It would be a travesty to raise Warragamba Dam's wall which would cause flooding and destruction of the Kowmung every time floodwaters were captured by Warragamba's raised wall.
Yours sincerely,

To whom it may concern,
I am deeply disturbed by the almost total lack of artention to the scientific, cultural, social and economic reasons against raising the Warragamba Dam wall.
1. water quality will be degraded substantially both by the raising of the wall and by the construction period. Less water will be available than required unless restrictions and constraints on domestic use are put in place.
2. Aboriginal cultural heritage will be destroyed with over 1541 sites inundated, despite objections from the Australian Department of Environment and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
3. the dam is now considered by experts to have little effect on flood mitigation
4. the option preferred by Government is the most damaging and most expensive option available, however it will benefit land developers but not perchasers of houses in that area
5. very simple options of upgrading existing roads exist to assist with major flood evacuations have been assessed by expert groups.
6. rezoning parts of the land as agricultural will allow for less neutralisation of prime agricultural land that could have market gardens retained or reintroduced to provide cheaper vegetables to the Sydney region.
7. Damage to ecosystems of critically endangered birds will not occur so one less extinction would be notched up on the NSW Govts belt.
8. Serious damage to National Parks particularly to the Kow Mung River, would not occur. The government is proposing to flood 5700 hectares of park and 65 km of wild rivers.
The raising the dam wall proposal is politically attractive as a slogan and also to secure donations from the main beneficiaries. It is not supported by the science or economics of the project and should be rejected.
Better solutions exist and should be implemented and could be implemented at far lower cost to taxpayers.

Yours sincerely,