But residents across NSW worst affected flood zones questioned whether the size and magnitude of the floods could have been eased by better management of the state’s major water catchment, Warragamba Dam.
and left more than 50,000 residents without power and under evacuation orders and warnings.
Nearly 900mm fell at Brogers Creek in the Illawarra region in the three days until Monday morning. That’s almost the region’s yearly rainfall. About 800mm has fallen on parts of NSW over the past four days, while some areas of Sydney received 150mm to 200mm on Monday alone. “We’ve got a desalination plant that’s working below capacity in the city and [the government] says it’s worried about preserving drinking water. Isn’t there a way to look after both?”Legislation ruling the dam stipulates it can only be used for water storage rather than flood mitigation. This means its operator Water NSW is only authorised to make controlled releases when the dam reaches full supply and hamstrings its capacity to release water during dryer months.
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