Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) President Ian Dinham has praised the decision by the NSW Government to support raising Warragamba Dam to reduce the risk of catastrophic flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
The NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced that raising of the dam is now a critical state significant infrastructure project.
FMA has been a strong supporter of raising of the dam wall to reduce the clear and present risk to life for about 55,000 people in a 1 in 100 chance in a year flood.
Mr Dinham said the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Management Taskforce has thoroughly investigated options to reduce overall flood risk in the valley and concluded that a mix of infrastructure and non-infrastructure measures was required to satisfactorily reduce and manage the flood risk.
"There are important environmental and cultural issues to consider in raising the dam and these must be effectively managed, but at the end of the day, this is about saving lives," Mr Dinham said.
"FMA is firmly of the view that the risk of catastrophic flooding for residents of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley is unacceptable, and a suite of integrated measures including flood mitigation infrastructure, appropriate risk-based land use planning and community resilience initiatives is required to appropriately manage the risk.
"No-one wants to see a repeat of Lismore type flooding disaster across the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. Now that the NSW Government has acknowledged that this is critical infrastructure this project needs to get underway as a matter of urgency.
"For a 1 in 100 chance in a year flood raising the dam would reduce the number of people needing to evacuate from 55,000 to 14,000. The consequent reduction in risk to life, damage to private property and public infrastructure, and the on-going financial, psychological and health impacts on the community would be enormous."
Natural disasters currently cost the Australian economy $38 billion per year according to Deloitte Access Economics, and flooding from rivers and local catchments is the costliest, yet most manageable, of natural disasters.
Floodplain Management Australia brings together experts from across Australia and overseas to help build a more flood resilient nation. Members include over 170 councils, catchment management authorities, agencies, businesses, and professionals involved in urban and rural flood risk management.
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