I object to the project on the basis of the environmental impacts from increasing the inundation zone and believe the area of impact has been under estimated. I also consider the proposed offset by purchasing Blue mountains land elsewhere as inadequate and not a valid counter measure to the destruction of world heritage areas. The Blue mountains are incredibly culturally significant and personally important to myself and I do not support comprising the area further.

I have heard that the dam will be drained substantially to raise the dam wall
With the rain being unreliable and the time taken for the project to complete I feel it extremely risky to undertake a project putting the water available to millions of residents at risk

Raising the Warragamba Dam wall would be the most colossal waste of tax payer dollars in the communities history, as it will destroy cultural sites, severely damage the environment and have no effect in lessening the severity of floods.

Firstly, Warragamba Dam is part of the Blue Mountains Heritage Site and for good reason. The area is home to hundreds of indigenous sites, sacred to the aboriginals that lived here before us. However raising the dam by 14 meters as proposed would destroy at least 100 of these sites. How can we truly say we live in a modern society that has risen above racism when the State Government proposes plans to knowingly destroy aboriginal culture in a World Heritage Site? How is this different from the intensional mining explosion in Juukan Gorge, WA as part of a mine expansion last year? Such a blunder was heavily criticised by the media for quite some time, Does the NSW Government want to face that same level criticism? There is but one way to avoid such a catastrophe and the ensuing bad press, and that is to abandon this proposal and cancel all plans to raise the Warragamba Dam.

Secondly, raising the wall would irreversibly harm the environment and destroy local ecosystems. Raising the Dam by 14 meters won't just make the wall 14 meters higher. It means the water level across the entire valley will also rise by 14 meters. Thousands of trees would die and be swept away from the rising water, likely to damage the catchment assuming you they aren't chopped down before raising the wall, but that in and of itself also cause irreparable harm to the local landscape. Furthermore all animal life living among those 14 meters above the water level will lose their habitat and certainly die as a result. This includes 50% of the wild population of the Regent Honeyeater, an IUCN red listed, critically endangered species. Actively killing 50% of an endangered, native bird would be to throw away all the progress we have made in order to save said bird from extinction over the last 5 years. This includes the breeding and release program Taronga Zoo initiated years ago. Why would we spend millions of dollars killing the same individuals that we spent millions of dollars protecting and breeding over the past decades? Furthermore while the regent honeyeater will the the most dramatically effected it won't be the only thing effected. Kangaroos, Wombats, Platypuses, Echidnas and wedge tailed eagles all call the Warragamba Dam Catchment home. A severe loss of habitat will effect all of them in s horrific manner. The only solution to such a huge loss of habitat and dramatic impact on local ecosystems is to prevent the Dam from being raised in the first place.

Thirdly, raising the dam will have no effect what so ever on lessening and preventing flood damage and is therefore a complete waste of tax payer dollars. Many media outlets such as channel 7 portray Warragamba Dam opening as the cause of major flooding across suburbs such as Windsor and Richmond. However this is largely inaccurate due to the fact that rain is the cause, not the dams themselves. Furthermore Warragamba Dam only ever spills once areas down stream of it have already flooded as a result of every other dam in the catchment having spilled first. Ask any engineer who worked at Warragamba Dam from the 1960s-1990s, and they'll all use the same analogy: "It's like a bath tub with a hundred taps gushing water into it. It's only once every other tap is on and the bath starts overflowing, that the final and biggest tap turns on. And Warragamba Dam is the biggest tap". So Warragamba Dam doesn't cause flooding, rather it only effects an already flooded area. Therefore Raising it will in no way prevent flooding.

Finally raising the wall will only lead to higher property damages as the Dam cannot prevent or mitigate flooding. Raising the wall by 14-17 meters will only delay the Dams spilling by a few days to 2 weeks at the most. Raising the dam will only serve as an excuse for land developers to build sell property further into flood plains. Putting even more homes at risk during flooding. It's not the dam that floods those houses, it's building those houses on flood plains, that floods them. Following land development trends in the area, this means that 22,000 residents of Windsor and Richmond won't be able to evacuate in time in the event any of flash flooding. Furthermore the Dam was not designed as a mitigation Dam or a retention Dam. It automatically opens once the water reaches a certain level, to let the water flow like a river. Not hold it back. Raising it will not change this. If anything it will completely jeopardise the structural integrity of the dam as it's build like a Pyramid in that no bolts or steel hold it together, rather it's built on an angle so the concrete blocks merely rest atop one another with such a strong relation to its height and weight, raising it threatens to alter this delicate balance. Nonetheless the true solution to the problem is to not build houses in land that we know floods. Hence raising the wall will only incentivise lead the public into a false sense of security, inviting land developers to build further into flood plains putting thousands more at risk.

Overall raising the Warragamba Dam Wall would tantamount to the NSW Government spending millions of tax payer dollars to destroy sacred Indigenous Sites, devastate native critically endangered species in a World Heritage Site and ironically only cause further flood damage down stream of the Dam.

I do not believe that this project needs to occur, the Nepean river and Warragamba dam are not significantly involved with flooding of the Hawkesbury areas. The main culprit is the Hawkesbury river, intermittently letting water out of the Warragamba dam and keeping the levels down to accommodate extra water when heavy prolonged rain does occur will help prevent its adding to the flooding that the Hawkesbury river is notorious for. The reasons given to raise the wall do not out way the damage done if this goes ahead to the WORLD HERITAGE LISTED BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK AND SIGNIFICANT ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SITES.
Please look very carefully at any decision that will impact greatly the NATIONAL PARK AND ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES just for the benefit of the Government with the releasing of more land for residential and commercial benefit that sit in these flood prone areas that should not be being developed in the first place. Money and greed should not be more important than nature and cultural heritage.

The proposed raising of the dam wall will flood the Blue Mountains UNESCO World heritage listed national park, damaging wildlife areas and aboriginal heritage sites. I do not support raising the dam wall because if this. Studies of the recent 2021 floods show raising the dam wall will not future flood proof the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley. I urge the government not to but the Blue Mountains UNESCO World heritage stays at risk by pursuing this project for the sake of land developers.

I am totally against this project. My family has lived on the Hawkesbury River since first settlement. Raising the wall will only make the floods bigger and deadlier when the water cannot be contained and the even bigger amounts of water held behind the dam will have to spill. The out of control development that is going on in the Sydney Basin and around the Hawkesbury River has already had a massive impact on the river. I am constantly on the river and have watched it get more and more polluted over the last few years. The water looks putrid sometimes and there is that much rubbish in it that it makes me sick. A lot of people have moved in along the river over recent years and they do what ever they want to the landscape, changing the lay of the land with fill and clearing down vegetation that holds the banks together. In the last two recent floods the impact of this was very noticeable to one who has lived through many floods on the river. The flood was unusual and flooded bigger in some spots that have never had it like that before.
I don't believe the wall is being raised for flood mitigation and think it is all about developing the low lying areas across the Hawkesbury Valley and surrounds. There will be blood on the hands of the decision makers if the ridiculous idea gets passed because there will be the day when the dam cannot hold the huge amounts of water that will have to spill and thousands will die.
Shame on all those that only see dollar signs and have no conscience regarding the desolation of the landscape only to develop great tracks of land to bring the world's hordes here to our once lucky country. Stop before it is too late. Australia is being ruined...

The fact that this "plan" made it so far, despite community objection, misleading Environmental impact statements and the potential loss of traditional owners’ cultural sites is a clear indicator of the NSW governments true plans.
Raising the wall is not about flood mitigation. It is to allow developers access to land that is already flood affected, so it can be developed for housing.

- 4700 hectares will be flooded (temporarily?)
- The difference in the “affected” area between the report given to UNESCO and the report pushed by the government are so great, that it is no accidental or accounting error. This is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. If I was allowed the freedom to speak without recourse, it would be labelled “Blatant corruption”. Unfortunately, I am not , only politicians are allowed to speak (often lies, under the protection of parliamentary privilege).
- This is a deliberate attempt to mislead UNSECO and the public on the governments plans to raise the wall, regardless of independent experts’ advice and opinions.
- The government has handpicked the “stakeholders” responsible for community engagement and environmental reporting (SMEC), as they know that the information provided will not be truth or fact, but a twisted version of reality, best suited to their overall plan.
- The impact of increased flood water levels within the dam is likely to have extensive and significant impacts on listed threatened species and communities and world and national heritage values of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
- Countless indigenous heritage sites lost (SMEC did not even consult with traditional owners who have knowledge on these)
- The community has largely been ignored, in favour of those who stand to make a profit if the wall is raised.


All in the name of developing flood prone land, so developers can run amok.
The NSW Government has stated in its principle document advocating the dam proposal that it plans to allow an additional 134,000 people to reside on western Sydney floodplains after the dam is raised.
There have been numerous inappropriate western-Sydney floodplain developments green-lighted in 2017/18 (the same year legislating to raise the dam was rammed through the NSW Parliament). These include the Penrith Panthers, Penrith Lakes, Marsden Park North and Vineyard development proposals. The SEPP for a number of these areas allows for development below the 1:100 year flood planning level. International best practice dictates that floodplain development should not occur below the 1:500 year level!

Penrith lakes is practically the Nepean River itself! And the government wants to build houses there.

Why is the government pushing for this project so hard? Is there money to be made at the cost of residents?
Who stands to profit from such a project? Clearly not the people of NSW. The ICAC must investigate all parties involved to provide the community a level of honesty, that so far has been missing.

I do not donate to any political party, nor have I been a member of any party in the past, or present.
I stand for honesty, truth and integrity. The government and the parties it has engaged with in pushing forward with this project, clearly do not.

I object to the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall height.

I object to any increased risk of damage to the natural environment (including flora, fauna and natural / geological formations).

I object to any potential risk to indigenous heritage sites and indigenous artefacts. This includes risk of potential damage to the World Heritage listed areas.

I object to the proposed cost of the infrastructure works, as I do not believe the benefits outweigh the costs.

I object to any potential increase in development or density to the floodplains of the Hawkesbury/Nepean region.

I understand the increased dam wall height will not eliminate the flooding risk of the most severe flooding events. If this infrastructure investment will not eliminate flooding risk altogether, it is not worthwhile.
I particularly object to the potential to use the increase flood capacity of Warragamba Dam wall as a potential rationale to increase development within the floodplains.

Whilst I am not a local resident, I am an impacted stakeholder to this decision.

Submissions from any resident of NSW should be given equal weighting. Do not weight the opinions of individuals and corporations with vested interests in increasing development of the floodplains over other taxpayers and residents of NSW / Greater Sydney.

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission.

Dear NSW Government,
I vehemently object to the raising of the dam wall for the following valid reasons:
1. The increased traffic to the area is not supported by current infrastructure (including quality of roads) in the area.
2. The noise created by the increased traffic on the main thoroughfares (Silverdale Rd, Warradale Rd, Marsh Rd) is already at an unacceptable level- people living on the fore mentioned roads are already dealing with living next to free way type traffic noise from 4am and no sound barriers to block the noise. Any increased traffic (particularly by trucks) will absolutely decrease the quality of life for the residents who are already sleep deprived by the increased traffic noise.
3. Any foreseeable disruption to air quality in the area is unacceptable. You already have many vulnerable people living in the area with respiratory conditions- adding to their suffering is insensitive and unjust. Proceeding with a project that will “likely” see a decrease in the air quality of the area is irresponsible and inhumane. You are potentially taking a gamble on the health of the residents of the area and should their be an increase likelihood of respiring illnesses or diseases, you will be likely placed in the position of having to deal with a class action (futuristically speaking). The local public school and day care centres are just metres away from the dam- you will literally be putting the long term health of our children at risk.
4. The cultural significance of the catchment area to the indigenous community is already public knowledge. To disregard the impact that flooding the land will have on the indigenous peoples of the area is reflective of a government decision that is similar to that of the government that justified the assimilation and integration policies implemented in the first half of the 20th century.
5. There are other alternatives to raising the dam wall- building infrastructure that utilises Sydney’s under used desalination plant is a start. Piping the water from the de sal plant to where it is needed is a much more logical and less risky task.

Please, do not proceed with raising the dam wall.

There is no guarantee that there will be enough rain to fill it anyway.

Regards,


Adele Kimber