To whom it may concern,
Please Please Please do not raise the dam wall of Warragamba Dam, this would be the most destructive and catastrophic thing that could be done. Australia with its unique environment and wildlife in the world heritage Blue Mountains National Park, would suffer great consequences if flooding occurred. Do not be a destroyer of our beautiful natural environments, it's been this way for millions of years so leave it alone and Let It Be as John Lennon's song goes. We have unique flora and fauna here, we do not want more extinctions - man is destroying many of our natural environments- leave this alone for future children, your children, my children and generations to enjoy. Leave something beautiful for the people of NSW, Australia and the tourism world.

To whom it may concern,
I live in Sun Valley in the Blue Mountains. I am blessed to enjoy the beautiful bush in the Blue Mountains every day. When people visit here from Sydney they realx as soon as they seen the trees as they cross the Nepean River at Emu Plains. The bushwalking and outdoor recreation opportunities we have living here are amazing.

I oppose the proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall and the ramifications it will have for the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

I am worried about habitat destruction of Koalas, Platypus, Emus and Regent Honeyeaters. We have already destroyed so much of the beautiful bushland in Sydney's west and I really don't want to have more destroyed just for the sake of a few more houses.

There are alternatives to raising the dam wall and these should be used rather than choosing the cheaper and simpler option.

I call upon the NSW Government to reject the proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall and find another solution.

Please do not raise the Warragamba dam walls as it will eliminate more sacred indigenous land, flood entire important ecosystems and endanger wildlife.

To whom it may concern,
I feel that the whole issue of raising the dam wall should be reconsidered.
There are better, cheaper options available and I think these should be more fully investigated.
The wishes of the traditional owners should also be taken into account. They understand the land and the seasons far better than other Australians.

To whom it may concern,
I am so concerned about the NSW Gov's plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall and the recent (Environmental) Impact Assessment that fails to acknowledge its very purpose. Possibly because it was carried out by an engineering company when one would expect ecologists to be involved??
And this after such devastating bush fires in the region.
Its unconsciable that Gov thinks its ok to misuse its self-granted power to push through infrastructure, against its own department recommendations, that put so much at risk.
I have walked in and visited much of the Greater Blue Mtns World Heritage Area and it is so PRECIOUS!!!
The impacts of raising the dam wall are so many and if we are not considering the ENVIRONMENTAL impacts now, when will we be? When there's nothing left?
How can Australia expect to uphold World Heritage status of the Greater Blue Mtns with further loss of the natural valleys and rivers as they get flooded? What about how the world further perceives us, if not already as a population upon whom the most beautiful landscape and wildlife is being trashed and wasted?
NSW Gov needs to be pursuing other methods of flood mitigation and meeting the water needs of its infinitely growing Sydney megatropolis.
Come on NSW Gov!!! Have the guts to show the world that you really do care about a future for our natural world. Stop this build at all costs mindset....be innovative!!

To whom it may concern,
Personally, I do not have a connection to the land affected by this proposal. However - with respect to the Warragamba dam I have concerns as an Australian and as an ordinary member of Birdlife Australia.
As an Australian senior, and reflecting on my childhood, I can see with my own eyes, how much land and nature that we have lost to this country's relentless quest for real estate development. It is ruthless and relentless and it is our natural environment that is suffering. This can only be seen with old eyes - eyes that can recall what was there 50 - 60 years ago and compare the then to now.
It is unbeliveably sad. And if this goes ahead, it will be, according to experts, possibly the end of the Regent Honeyeater. We have threatened birds, plants, reptiles, animals, fish, etc and the list just goes on and on.
One only has to Google this development and many others to find a disturbing trend - Government conveniently ignoring facts and research to push ahead regardless.
There is ample evidence of seemingly valid and important concerns expressed by other groups including First Nation Groups, Birdlife Australia, specialist environmental groups and so on.
One wonders, what is behind this and who? Where is the transparency, the in-depth consultation, the concern for groups that claim to have been not fully included and so on.
There are less damaging alternatives to this development put forward and in all seriousness, these should be fully explored and adopted.
My voice in this matter is tiny but if you listen there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of us who detest spin and who are very aware of decision makers conveniently massaging messages to jump hurdles that might otherwise not support what the Government decided upon at the beginning.
I believe that the groups opposing this development are far more credible than the proponents and therefore, on their advice I oppose this development in it's current form.

To whom it may concern,
I've been worried about the plan to interfere with the wall of Warragamba Dam. Seems ill-considered from inception. Firstly the integrity of the srructure is weakened, the problem of flooding requires a system plan across the entire catchment that should include restoration of wetland sponges within theurban context to both reduce flood peaksand relieve urban heat. Permitting residential development on a flood plain is an unconscionable error raising the dam wall does not address. Adding to this insult to our collective intelligence the NSW Government's recently released environmental impact statement (EIS) shows disregard for the people of the Wollondily LGA, who are most directly affected by this exercise in engineering hubris. I support the Wollondilly Coluncil's objection to the development based on their concerns for the environmental and cultural damage this project will cause.

To whom it may concern,
I am deeply concerned about the NSW Goverment's EIS on the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall for reasons including:
the destruction of pristine Kowmung River declared a 'Wild River' and protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974;
the consequent damage to natural and cultural values of the Blue Mountains which is a World Heritage area;
the impact on threatened species and ecological communities and the incompletion of associated field surveys;
the lack of post-bushfire field surveys;
the significant number (10ver 1541) cultural heritage sites inundated by the Dam proposal;
the lack of meaningful consultation with Gundungurra Traditional Owners;
the lack of modelling of the stated flood and economic benefits of the dam wall raising.
Alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall have not been comprehensively assessed in the EIS, particularly the cost benefit anaylsis which must include the natural/cultural/heritage components of the area as well as the ecosystem services that are provided at present and will be lost with the Dam wall.
As a result, the integrity of the environmental assessment is fundamentally flawed and misleading.

To whom it may concern,
What is going on? Do not go ahead with this ill conceived project.
• Severe fires during the summer of 2019/20 devastated 81% of Blue Mountains Heritage Area. No post-bushfire field surveys have been undertaken.
• Only 27% of the impact area was assessed for Aboriginal Cultural Heritage.
• Threatened species surveys are substantially less than guideline requirements. Where field surveys were not adequately completed, expert reports were not obtained.
• No modelling of the stated flood and economic benefits of the dam wall raising are outlined in the EIS.
• The integrity of the environmental assessment is fundamentally flawed, and cannot be accepted as a basis for further decision-making by the Minister for Planning.
• There are many 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 comprehensively assessed in the EIS. 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.
I urge you to consider the above carefully.

I am a long-term resident of the Hawkesbury area. I was in one of the suburbs isolated from Sydney during last years floods for several days. I also run a small business in the heart of Windsor. I am well connected with the community through my neighbourhood, through a volunteering role, and am on local social media pages. As such, I am typical of the citizens that the proposed benefits of this project are directed towards. I am also a trained Civil/Structural Engineer and work with local flood risks, so I have a good understanding of the hydraulic and hydrologic aspects of the proposal as well as the risk versus reward of this proposal.

With the above local insights, I can advise that I have never come across any discussion amongst any locals, whether in the business community or in the wider local community, who have even raised the topic of the dam. There is simply no groundswell of demand from the local residents for the proposal. My personal summary of people’s attitudes to the flooding risk is that it is an accepted part of life. I am quite sure some quite enjoy the mild adventure, variety to life and community solidarity that flooding brings about.

Given the negligible community interest there is simply no warrant for the proposal based on community demand. Given this, the more severe consequences of a flood level approaching PMF could be more economically managed, or even reduced, in a way that is acceptable to the community, and without the collateral damage to the environment and aboriginal heritage, by:

• Better education of the risks and consequences of floods, particularly those above the 1% ARI.
• Better flood forecasting and warning systems.
• Implementing development controls to limit risk from future developments which are in the floodable zone but which are above the 1% AEP level.
• Purchasing most at risk properties.
• Improving transport links and flood evacuation routes in what is an already a poorly served community.

To whom it may concern,
Please do not enlarge Warragamba dam. This will destroy too much vital habitat which needs to be preserved at this stage in Australia's extinction crisis!
For water security, please mandate rooftop water collection for ALL households! It's a no-brainer!
Likewise, using dams to generate electricity may be 'green' in that no carbon is released to our atmosphere, renewable energy is the way to go.
Thankyou for your consideration of my views.