Dominic Perrottet has asked the federal government to fund half of a $1.6 billion Warragamba dam wall project that would protect communities from flooding.
Raising the height of Sydney’s Warragamba Dam by 14 metres would have lowered floodwaters at Windsor Bridge this week by more than 3.5 metres, an environmental impact study exploring the $1.6 billion project found.
“The discussions that we had prior to the last federal election were very positive in relation to this project, and that it would meet the criteria for a 50/50 arrangement given its scale. So, we’ll continue those discussions.”were allowed to return to their homes on Friday, while more than 90 evacuation orders and warnings in the Hunter and Central Coast kept 47,000 people on high alert.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet surveys flooding on a tour with Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke in the Hunter Region.The river peaked this week at 13.93m, on Tuesday, which is slightly higher than the environmental impact study’s estimates of a one-in-20 year event. Wollondilly Shire mayor Matt Gould is a strong opponent of the plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.On Friday, Opposition Leader Chris Minns argued that the dam project would do nothing to minimise the impact of the Grose and Colo rivers and South Creek flowing into the Hawkesbury catchment area. At the same time, evacuation routes need to be upgraded and the building of homes in a floodplain also required rethinking.