I have been a resident of the Blue Mountains for 20 years; I hold a deep appreciation for our natural environment and respect for our First Nations cultural heritage.
I'm opposed to the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall due to the destruction it will cause to a World Heritage area and to important cultural sites. I'm extremely disturbed to read it's estimated that 65 kilometres of wilderness rivers, 5700 hectares of National Parks and over 1541 identified cultural heritage sites would be inundated by the Dam project. It's inconceivable that anyone holding a leadership role in this country could think that this is ok, especially in the light of where we have found ourselves environmentally today.
It is absolutely imperative that the Australian Department of Environment consult, listen to and take advice from Gundungurra community members. Australia is home to one of the oldest living cultures in the world with a recognised history of sustainable land management and too many significant cultural sites are not being respected and preserved for current and future generation.
Furthermore, it is my understanding that there are a range of sensible and more cost effective alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall.

I've only recently relocated to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
The work I do is analytical and I'm also affiliated with environmental law at Sydney University.
I've been working on environmental issues for some time, and once again confronted with another problematic idea for a major project: this presented by the state governmentand its agencies as a solution to floods in the developed areas along major river systems.
The approach of both the present coalition government and the NSW liberal government to climate change is causing great concern generally in NSW. This concern is connected to the State Government's project of raising the Warragambe dam wall given its relation to over development, population and environmental destruction.
Working on legislative dicuments has indicated the serious problems and limitations of not only the EIS involved in the Warragamba project but in particular tits relation to the long-standing damaging affects of the NSW government's 2016 Biodiversity Act.
All the legislation dealing with the Warragamba project is connected to the failure of present thinking to understand the complex issues which are involved in this issue of raising the dam wall– the problems connected with flooding are, as usual, analysed as a 'natural'result, not as the result of unsuitable development and planning laws in a natural flood plain area–the original owners, the Gundungurra underrstand that there is a need to have regard for the importance of narural flood plain events and more than ever protecting the natural environment and its biodiversity.
Importantly there has been a great deal of work done on the relation of the geological affects of dams to dangerous seismic activity.The nineteenth century obsession with development (human well-being the primary drive, an important and complex issue in relation to climate change), does not take into account current scientific work – old thinking is dangerous and has been shown to result in anthropogenic activity which has created vast floods and fires which have not only affected Australia but globally.
The seriousness of understaning the scientific work which develops the structures involved in what is called 'climate change' has to be taken into account in the way every new project is developed–it's unbelievable that more development in western flood plains could even be considered –

To whom it may concern, we strongly believe that any alteration in Warragamba's Dam wall is unjustifiable on environmental and economic grounds.

I strongly oppose the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall. I live in Silverdale NSW, the roads and infrastructure do not support the extra traffic that will be entering the township everyday. The township and businesses will suffer as well as the dreadful impact of noise and dust which will be constant.

I believe the environmental impact statement is remiss in so many areas that it qualifies as being absolutely useless. The impact on wildlife and vegetation will be irreplaceable. Everything possible should be made to preserve the sacred aboriginal sites and this would not be possible if this development proceeded.
Please do not go ahead with raising Warragamba Dam wall as this would be a loss for NSW and the environment and could never be rectified.

To whom it may concern,
Only those hoping to profit could champion such a cause as the raising of Warragamba Dam wall.
Short term memory seems to be a problem with many, even politicians. Stuart Ayres is younger than I by about 40 years and yet he has seemingly forgotten the decision made only about 20 years ago, namely when we first moved to Penrith, about RAISE THE WALL AND SAVE US ALL. It was rejected as TOO DAMN DANGEROUS, for the very reason I learnt as a kid, about ten or twelve years old. My younger brother and I were walking THROUGH Warragambe Dam during it's construction, with our father, BOB MCMILLAN, then a very esteemed Consulting Civil Engineer in Sydney, he had a reputation for NEVER agreeing to anything that was not absolutely 100% safe, including all the drive-in screens around Sydney, they were a wretch to remove when it all went out of fashion, and I remember as a kid that he shut the St. Ives shopping centre at one hour's notice as it was all so dodgy and in danger of collapsing. Took about six months to fix. I believe he was hired as the engineer to check it when cracks started appearing soon after it was opened. I can remember him coming home and telling our mother NOT to go there at all at one stage, can't remember when that was. But the Warragamba episode I remember very well, and I checked with my brother Brian who now lives in Brisbane. He remembers it too. But I distinctly remember asking my Dad why they didn't build the wall higher, the terrain seemed to suit a very high wall. His answer I certainly remember too, "WELL, THEY CAN'T, BECAUSE THE NATURE OF THE SURROUNDING ROCK IS TOO UNSTABLE". I just accepted that as gospel, as he did know what he was talking about, having a wide range of interests including geology, astronomy, history, etc., as well as being a good engineer. I think he was invited to look over the building of the dam and he took his two oldest kids, probably to give our mum a break. I have since SEEN FOR MYSELF THE FRACTIOUS NATURE OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS ROCK in the many walks I took with the Glenbrook Historical Society over a few years, not happening much in the current climate or in summer anyway.
But to have to reconsider it all now, that is just plain ... well, it seems stupid to me. I also remember that the situation was settled after the Raise the Wall campaign by testing the nature of the terrain and deciding exactly what my Dad had said and deciding that if the dam did seriously overflow in a monster flood, then the foot of the spilway would not be suffiicient to prevent the undermining of the wall and that a very large new spilway was built on the Eastern side of the dam to rectify this problem anyway. I was pleased with this change at the time and thought that the episode was finalised. I obvously didn't consider the greed of those hoping to profit from more work, or is it the developers who built on what was always deemed to be flood prone. I know the locals living in the developement at Waterside cannot get flood insurance ... ! Also Hobartville in the Hawkesbury is all flood prone apparently. There is a story about championship horses being allowed into the top floor of Hobartville House way back in some great flood, maybe even 1867. Have any of the Warragamba Dam Wall Raisers seen the poles with river heights marked, best in Devlin Road west of Castlereagh Road at Castlereagh or closer to Stuart Ayres office, on the GreatRiver Walk nearly at the current end off Cassola place in Penrith. There is even now a painted diagonal line on the path there, with 21.3.21 at 4.00pm marked on the slightly uphill side of the line of debris I saw a couple of days later. It STILL FLOODS HERE. But raiising the dam wall will cause FAR greater damage all over the East of the Great Dividing Range south of Sydney.
Please consider all those opposed to any planned raising of the wall, they all have very good reasons.
DON'T DO IT.

I wish to object to the proposed raising of the Warragamba dam wall. I have walked in the potentially affected area of the Coxs River and do not believe the proponents have any deep knowledge of what they would be destroying by inundation.
The proponents say that the inundation would only be occasional and transitory but in the long term the will be strong political pressures to store more water and raise the height of the normal storage levels.
The proponents have not considered other less destructive alternatives for flood mitagation. In addition there are serious doubts about how effective raising the dam wall will be in preventing flooding because there are potentially large inflows to the flood plain from catchments below the dam wall.
The proponents are disingenous in claiming that this development is to prevent flooding. The main reason for the development is to foster property development on the flood plain.
Th proponents have ignored the wishes of the traditional ownwers and the need to protect World Heritage Areas

I am absolutely appalled by the proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall and the implications this will have on the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. I have lived in the Mountains for over two decades and as an avid hiker have spent a lot of my time walking and guiding clients in remote areas of the Park, in particular Kanagra and the Kowmung. This is a wild, wonderful region that is such a valuable asset to the country - from an environmental perspective as well from a walker's. Few places in the world can boast such incredible pristine wilderness and this has to be truly valued.
I'm horrified that the Government would even consider risking our World Heritage listing yet this is what is on the line - purely for the sake of developer greed. If the dam wall were raised, as is proposed, it would devastate the area's eco system, inundating and ruining the Kowmung river and well as threatetning a number of already fragile ecological communities and endagering the habitat of the critically endangered Regent Honey Easter and Sydney's last emu population.
There are also a significant number of cultural heritage sites that are at risk too...yet these are our countries heritage. They are sacred and must be protected.
I'm at a loss for words to try and comprehend the mentality that even considers such options. There are various alternatives available that would protect commuites and need to be explored thoroughly.

Raising the wahrragamba dam wall will amount to vandalism of World Heritage Areas and Cultural sites that should be protected. I will oppose any government now and foreover that engages in such vandalism.