Residents are exhausted and completely over having to go through the clean-up and rebuild time and again - Hawkesbury Mayor Patrick Conolly.

“It’s time for a decision on flood mitigation – we need the NSW Government to raise Warragamba Dam wall now.”

Both Hawkesbury City Mayor Patrick Conolly and The Hills Shire Mayor Peter Gangemi have joined forces in calling for the Warragamba Dam wall to be raised urgently.

Referring to Hawkesbury’s exhausted residents as “living in a never-ending nightmare”, Mayor Conolly said it was high time the current proposal to raise the dam wall by 14 metres was seriously addressed to protect communities in the northwest.

“Our residents understand that living along the Hawkesbury River poses a risk, but to endure four floods months apart is extremely stressful and heartbreaking,” Mayor Conolly said.

“Residents have told me that they are exhausted and completely over having to go through the clean-up and rebuild time and again.

“It’s time for a decision on flood mitigation – we need the NSW Government to raise Warragamba Dam wall now.”

Mayor Conolly added if we get a flood similar to that in 1867 (19.7 metres), the raised wall would save 7000 homes.

These fresh calls by the neighbouring mayors come after properties on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain were left impacted yet again by flood waters – some for up to the fourth time in 16 months.

Hills Shire Mayor Peter Gangemi said reacting to floods wasn’t enough.

“The communities of Western and Northwest Sydney are very supportive of the Warragamba Dam wall being raised, and I think the two mayors coming here today [at the Hawkesbury River] is a symbol of that,” he said.

“Our residents have been through four major floods in 16 months. They are asking that more be done to protect their homes and businesses and raising the dam wall is the immediate action they are calling for.

“Every metre that the flood levels go higher, the amount of homes and businesses that get flooded as well as the cost of recovery all go up exponentially.

“Raising the dam wall 14 metres could reduce flood levels by up to 3.5 metres in the Hawkesbury River and that is the action that the residents along the River have been asking for, and that is why we are here, to advocate for them,” he added.

Warragamba Dam began spilling early on Sunday morning after Sydney received more than a month’s worth of rain in as little as five days.

Both mayors said it was crucial the dam was raised before another flood impacted the region.

“As the region continues to grow, it remains highly vulnerable to the impact of a great Hawkesbury-Nepean flood not seen since the ‘Great Flood’ of 1867. During this catastrophic event, 20 people lost their lives, livestock was swept away in flood waters and many people lost their homes and livelihoods. The same event today would have enormous impact on our region,” Mayor Gangemi said.

“It’s time to address the risk, raise the Dam and educate residents about flood behaviour and what residents should do to protect their property and loved ones,” Mayor Conolly added.

In 2017, the NSW Government released the Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Risk Management Strategy – ‘Resilient Valley, Resilient Communities’.

Both Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire councils have supported this strategy, which recommends raising Warragamba Dam to create a flood mitigation zone of 14 metres.

The current dam and its design provides for drinking water storage only. However, with the prediction of less frequent but more intense rain periods, flood storage is considered crucial to protect Greater Sydney from significant financial, environmental and social loss from flooding.

Main picture: Mayor Gangemi (left) pictured with Mayor Conolly at the flooded Windsor Bridge on the Hawkesbury River.