Warragamba Dam Raising

To whom it may concern,
Raising the wall of Warragama Dam will result in unacceptable habitat loss and destruction of our cultural heritage. It is also a cynical way of increasing housing density in Sydney's west, using land th a t is not suitable for development. There are other ways to assure Sydney's water supply and address flood concerns. The latter will not be mitigated by raising the wall.

I am not supporting the program as I feel that it is not in the interests of the community I live in or the environment. Surely with the connectivity of the dams that water can be pumped from dam to dam to mitigate any flooding. The Hawkesbury Nepean catchment has always flooded. Development has occurred in which this will affect the flood plains but major flooding events will occur under exceptional events. Would it not be cheaper to look at the current water network and have have pump out points into the sea to try and alleviate flooding events. I am sure that that there are other solutions that need to be considered. And also for when it in drought times, we need to look at recycling water. The UK successfully do this and if it was slowly introduced, even without the general population knowing, the "yuk factor" would not even be noticed by the general population.

I live at Putty and when the Hawkesbury River floods it closes the Putty Road between Windsor and Wilberforce, spreading across the vegetable and turf farms of the flood plain. Often the bridge at Richmond is closed too. Extreme weather events also flood the bridges at Putty so I cannot leave.

Hence, I take notice when the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts an extreme weather event, issuing a Flood Watch often days before expected flooding.

I remember seeing a Flood Watch on ABC News in mid-March 2021 and it was talked about a lot on the radio too so I went shopping to get supplies for a couple of weeks in case we were flooding in. The forecast got worse, the rain started, the dam level was getting higher and the weather forecasters were talking about a major event. I remember yelling at the TV to release water out of the dam, but it took days before that happened.

I later found out that strict operating protocols resulted in the release of water being delayed. When were these protocols set and how good was the forecasting at the time compared to now?

I object to the dam wall being raised because
1. Indigenous archaeological sites must be protected
2. The World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park and the rivers must be preserved
3. Food plains should be for agriculture, recreation and nature conservation not for housing
4. Experts say that raising the dam wall will not prevent flooding because the other catchments will flood
5. Higher limits must be set where developers can build, not just to keep people safe now but also into the future
6. Better dam management can produce better outcomes

As a resident of Sydney all of my life, I appreciate the crucial role that Warragamba Dam plays in providing the vast majority of our water supply. I also know first hand the personal devastation that flooding events can have on people and communities. But after reviewing the project's EIS I cannot support this project.

Having attended one of the recent information webinars, I was disappointed by the lack of prominence given to the biodiversity risk presented by this project. In particular, the potential impact on the Regent Honeyeater appeared to take a backseat. The Regent Honeyeater is a critically endangered species, and the proposed flooding area encroaches on one of only a few breeding sites that remain for this unique bird. The EIS notes that this project will have a significant impact on the species. The responses that I have heard from the project team regarding this have been dismissive, and have relied on an assumption that intermittent flooding events will likely not affect the bird's breeding sites. It is hard to accept this assumption for this species.
Birds are competitive for habitat, and the loss of other habitat areas after the 2020 fire events means that unaffected areashave become more competitive. Regent Honeyeaters have been struggling to breed already due to their sparse numbers - the increased competition from other species, combined with the flooding risks presented by this project, are an unnacceptable risk for a species that has less than 1000 specimens remaining in the wild.
Australia has remarkably only lost one bird to extinction so far - it would be a tragedy for this project to contribute to growing that list, when there are other alternatives on the table.

Proposals made by Dr Jamie Pittock and others should be explored further. The current project members have dismissed these alternatives as not being as effective as raising the wall. Given the potential impact on our World Heritage Wilderness, as well as the impact on critically endangered species, I feel the silver bullet approach proposed by raising the wall is short sighted, and does not take seriously our responsibility to protect our remaining wilderness.

I am making this submission to register my strong opposition to the raising of the Warragamba Dam Wall. I feel this proposal is based on last century thinking, and way out of step with simpler and smarter solutions to avoid flooding on the Nepean-Hawkesbury River floodplain.
First and foremost, the flooding of the creaks and rivers in Blue Mountains National Park will be devastating. 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 raising of the wall. This would have major adverse impacts on: the pristine Kowmung River, the Camden White Gum, grassy box woodland and critically endangered fauna such as the Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
I submit there are simpler and cheaper alternatives the Government should implement to avoid flooding of houses downstream of the dam. These include: better spillways, provision of evacuation routes for people living in the Penrith and Hawkesbury areas, zoning to stop further development in the floodplain, and acquisition of existing downstream flood affected properties over time to create floodplain open space corridors.

I strongly oppose the proposal to raise Warragamba Dam due to the project’s unacceptable potential impacts on the environment including to the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and threatened species. The Regent Honeyeater is listed as Critically Endangered at both a state and federal level, with as few as 350 individuals remaining in the wild. 

Modelling by BirdLife Australia suggested that up to 50% of contemporary Regent Honeyeater foraging and breeding habitat was burnt in the 2019/20 bushfires. Protecting remaining unburnt breeding habitat is of the highest conservation priority.
It is unacceptable and inconsistent with the National Recovery Plan for any avoidable loss or degradation of breeding habitat to occur.

To whom it may concern,
As a resident of the Blue Mountains I am concerned that discussion on the raising of the Warragamba dam walk has been driven by those who seek government protection from their own poor land development choices. There is much land along the flood plains that should never have been built on and I'm not happy with the idea that government money and irreplaceable natural environment be squandered in order that the liability for the poor decisions of a few are mitigated. In the long term you can't fix a mistake with another mistake.
I ask that environmental risks are taken very seriously when assessing this proposed development and that processes applied to assessing environmental impacts are demonstrably robust, representing he interests of non financial stakeholders and future generations fairly. This land means a lot to us all.

To whom it may concern,
Please do not go through with this ruinous plan to raise the Warragamba dam wall. This area is world heritage listed. This development will go against all the government body advice including Heritage, National Parks and Commonwealth Enviro Dept. We need to put our natural assets before the desires of housing developers. Please act to block this dangerous plan.

To whom it may concern,
I am againt raising the wall of the Warragamba dam for the following reasons.
The Blue Mountains World Heritage area is on UNESCO's Worlld Herfitage list because of its outstanding univaersl value for mankind. Raising the dam wall would cause unacceptable damage and breach our undertakings and obligations under the World Heritage Convention.
The integrity of the environmental assessment is flawed and should not be used by the Planning Minister to make a decision.
The surveys of threatened species were not adequate and expert reports were not obtained, putting our native fauna at risk.
There has been no modelling of the stated flood and economic benefits of raising the dam wall in the EIS.
There are alternatives to raising the dam wall which should be properly considered.

To whom it may concern,
I think the plan to raise the wall of the Warrangamba Dam is a serious error, not only environmentally but also economically. I object to the planned destruction of our heritage land because of its negative impact on local bushwalking. Your plan will destroy the very part of Australia that makes Australia so wonderful.

To whom it may concern,
I’ve had a connection with the Blue Mountains wilderness since the early nineteen seventies when I did my first bush walk in the area to Blue Gum forest. I recall how speculator I found the area and how special it was to have something like this so close to Sydney. I’ve done a lot of canyoning and bushwalking in the area since then and over time have developed a deep appreciation for the uniqueness of this area and people like Myles Dunphy who were instrumental in first having this wilderness protected. The unique landscapes and biodiversity of the area have been further protected since then with inclusion of the area on the World Heritage register.
The last bush walk I did in this area was from Katoomba to Kanangra earlier this year in May 2021.The two things that stood out from other walks I have done were how widespread and destructive the 2020 bushfires had been, and that there were no birds to be heard over the entire four days that we walked. We guessed that the birds must have moved on after the devastation the fires had wrought on their habitat. The stress the bushfires had put on the landscapes and biodiversity of the area was evident wherever we looked.
The world is losing its natural places and with that its biodiversity upon which we depend. There are many threats to these places, not least of all climate change, and if we want to preserve them then we need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. The raising of the Warragamba Dam wall will see vast tracts of land are inundated during floods when the gradual gradients of rivers such as the Cox’s, Kowmung and Wollondilly are taken into account. This in turn will put more stress on this area and further compromise its integrity, which makes us part of the problem. Moreover, we have no guarantee that future governments won’t make this flood level storage permanent.
The Nepean-Hawkesbury flood plain is well known for flooding after heavy rain and as climate change exacerbates extreme weather events it seems to me there will still be flooding events even if the Warragamba dam wall is raised. The Warragamba river is not the only catchment for this system. If further development is allowed to proceed along this flood plain then when flooding does occur the impact on that development is only going to be greater than it is today. The impact behind the dam will also be significant as water is held back to be released slowly over many weeks.
We need to draw a line and stop prioritising urbanisation over our wild places at some point. I feel that in this case that line has been drawn with the flooding of this area that has already occurred. Let’s not make it worse, rather let’s protect and look after what we have left. Let’s not undermine the efforts of those who first recognised the unique and exceptional values of the Blue Mountains wilderness and let’s not put the interests of developers ahead of its subsequent World Heritage recognition that is meant to protect it. I am therefore opposed to the proposal to raise the Warragamba dam wall.

I am not afraid to speak up for the birds and other animals that inhabit this world heritage area.

The fires have devastated wildlife and wildlife habitat - Australia can not afford to further reduce the habitat available by damming such a valuable ecosystem.

To whom it may concern,
Please do not go ahead with this proposal, it will affect an estimated 65 kilometres of wilderness rivers, and 5,700 hectares of National Parks. To have 1,300 hectares within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area that would be inundated by the Dam project is utterly just shocking and unwarranted just to build more houses.
We need to protect our world heritage and cultural sites, not to mention protect our land and native species that is so very important.

To whom it may concern,
Like many others I went through the bushfires and then floods. Climate change is going to continue to exacerbate these extreme events.
Raising the dam wall is definately going to drown important habitats and cultural sites but there is no real guarantee it will secure development on the flood plain from inundation.Surely insurance companies aren't pleased.
Read the history, look at the geography. The lesasons are there writ large.

I strongly support this project.
When consideration of either not proceeding or proceeding, a decision needs to be made on whether the posssible damage to aboriginal sacred sites or harming some very slow moving animals in the possible inundation zone who are unable to walk faster than any rising water levels or by the known very considerable dammage and loss of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure and homes ,all built leagally by the rules in place when they were built. There is also the negative psychological effect on residents in areas, now in the current 1 in 100 flood area, but when their homes were built were in a declared safe zone.
Not only would many thousands of people need to evacuate their homes in times of a major flood, they would not be able to return to them for weeks until they became habitable again. Many major insureres have now withdrawn many areas from being able to be insured, and those who still do, Have priced their policies beyond the finacial ability of people to pay them.
In a major flood not only homes and businesses at risk, so are many infrastructure items such as roads, bridges, electricity and sewerage treatment plants could be out of action for many months after the floodwater receeds. Even the RAAF Base at Richond could be out of action as the runway is flood prone in a major event.
Claims are made by the oponents of this project, that it is only an excuse for more subdivision in the 1 in 100 flood area or that it is a plan to permanantly increase capacity of Warragamba Dam. Both these claims have been rejected by the relevant Government Departments, but if it is a concern, then legislate against this happening.
Surely after many years of dirthering, isn't time to just get on with this project!!

To whom it may concern,
It makes me incredibly disappointed to read that the NSW Government is ignoring the various environmental and cultural ogranisations who have already urged reconsideration of the plan to raise Warragamba Dam.
I have frequently made trips to the Blue Mountains to enjoy the bushwalks there to appreciate the thriving diversity of our native ecosystems. To lose all of this needlessly, along with significant Aboriginal cultural sites is an offensive disservice selfishly and thoughtlessly perpetrated!
No modelling of the stated flood and economic benefits of the dam wall raising are outlined in the EIS with the integrity of the environmental assessment fundamentally flawed.
The Blue Mountains World Heritage area is not just a world class National Park, in 2000 it was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in recognition of its Outstanding Universal Value for the whole of mankind. Raising the Warragamba dam wall and consequent damage to natural and cultural values would be a clear breach of these undertakings and Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention.
Alternative options were not even comprehensively assessed in the EIS and this unacceptable.
Please reconsider this horrendous disservice to our Country and its people.

Raising the wall is a mistake, Flooding sacred sites and endangered habitat is wrong. Sydney is already overpopulated, we dont need more development, we need less. Exponential growth is an economic ponzi scheme and when the crash comes it will be all the worse for this proposal.
Its risks the world heritage listing of the Blue mountains, and i wont be voting for anyone who is pushing this developers wet dream agenda

To whom it may concern,
I am very concerned about the damage to a landscape that is known globally and as such is recognised as a world heritage region. The Blue Mountains are unique. There is no other like in the world. We should be doing everything to preserve it. Many people over a hundred years have fought to save this iconic piece of Australia. So far they/we are winning. The Blue Mountains are even now, as this submission is being written, being shown on cable television in the US. The desire to raise the wall is only being considered to save the skin of a local state politician, and benefit developers. While this seems to becoming the norm, it cannot be allowed to continue. Once destroyed it is destroeyed forever. Is this the legacy NSW wants? Desecrating a world heritage site. The NSW government will change. They don't have the moral right to do this.

To whom it may concern,
If the dam wall is raised, more than 1,000 sites of immense cultural and historical significance in the beautiful Burragorang Valley — irreplaceable Indigenous cave art galleries and occupation and burial sites — will be drowned under metres of muddy water.

What you may not know is that houses in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley will not be protected by raising the Warragamba Dam wall, the main reason the government gives to justify this destruction. Almost half of the flooding in the valley comes from waters that are not controlled by Warragamba Dam.
Upstream inundation would also destroy the mighty Kowmung River, 6,000 hectares of the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park, and further endanger already threatened species like the regent honeyeater and the Camden white gum.

The NSW Government recently released an environmental impact statement (EIS) that downplays – and denies – the environmental and cultural damage this project will cause.

The impact assessment was heavily condemned by several agencies:
• The National Parks and Wildlife Service said it failed to address impacts on species and ecological communities affected by last year’s bushfires.
• Heritage NSW said the EIS failed to properly consider cultural heritage values or adequately consult Traditional Owners.
• The Commonwealth Environment Department said the evaluation failed to consider impacts on iconic species like the platypus, and told the NSW Government to redo the entire heritage assessment.

I do not think the dam wall should be raised. It’s hard to believe that the NSW Government refused to redo this work and has carried out no further field studies since receiving those severe criticisms.
Platypuses are impacted badly by dams.
Ecosystems will be destroyed by flooding because of raising of the dam wall.
The traditionlal owners have not given permission for this raising
World Heritage and cultural sites will be flooded and destroyed.
Please find an alternative solution to the raising of the wall.

This is the most significant threat to Australia’s World Heritage in decades. There are few times in Australian history when Governments have undertaken such callous attacks on protected areas.