Firefighters are working to contain the spread of fires that have burnt everything but a 'small portion' of land surrounding Sydney’s major water catchment ahead of another heatwave next week.
The lake and dam have now been almost completely encircled by bushfire, with only a "small portion" on the northern side of the lake currently untouched by fire, RFS spokesman Ben Shepherd said.
There were two risks to water supply, said Professor Khan, an expert on water contamination. The first was that fire would destroy pumping stations and damage pipes, which so far hadn't happened, and the second was threat of a large downpour causing ash to run off and pollute the water supply. "The current priority is to protect against ash or debris being washed into the storage following a rain event," the WaterNSW spokesman said.
A spokesman for WaterNSW said the fact there had been no significant damage to assets in the Blue Mountains and Warragamba Dam areas was a testament to the firefighting efforts of the RFS.
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