A NINE point plan to help mitigate the effects of major flooding in the Hawkesbury and guide future development in the region for decades has been announced by the state government.
The long awaited Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Plan was shown for the first time by the government on Friday, May 5.
“The protection of human life is the number one priority of government,” said Member for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet.
The strategy lays out a number of suggested options to reduce the impact of flooding upon the population of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
The strategy calls for: Increased communication between government agencies; planning where best to allow residential development; improved flood plain mapping and flood predictions; the upgrading of local roads to aid flood evacuation; and, raising the Warragamba Dam wall by about 14 metres.
The raising of the Warragamba Dam wall is the centrepiece of the strategy.
Raising the dam wall is meant to reduce the impact of flooding thanks to a higher capacity to store water before the dam spills, however, will not stop flooding completely.
“Flooding doesn't occur every day. We can have some significant events every decade, and when they occur, we need to make sure the community understands the risks, the infrastructure is in place and the community is brought with us.”
The government expects raising the dam wall will cost about $690 million, and has set aside $60 million to develop a ‘business case’ by 2020.
“This has been a long time coming, we have talked for years about raising the Warragamba Dam wall,” Mr Perrottet said.
Minister for Western Sydney and Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres said it was important the communities of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley were aware of the risks of living in the area.
“We need to make sure our communities are prepared, they are aware of the risks and they are capable of responding when that risk is presented,” he Stuart Ayres.
“This community hasn't seen a significant flood event since the early 1990s, so that is a lot of people who have grown up without having seen a flood and experiencing it.
“[If we had a 1 in 100 year flood] we would be looking at evacuating about 64,000 people out of the Hawkesbury-Nepean area. That is a huge exercise.”
The strategy’s stated aims are: Ensure the communities of the valley are aware of the potentially catastrophic risks of flooding; manage development and reduce flooding risks; and, be ready to recover from a flood.