NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says he is fast tracking raising Sydney’s Warragamba Dam wall, announcing on 17 October that he will give the $1.6 billion project “state significant” status and will go ahead, even if the Federal government won’t pay half of the cost.
An independent inquiry into floods earlier in 2022 did not recommend raising the dam wall. In addition, independent research and recommendations from the peak insurance body, the Insurance Council of Australia, also oppose raising the wall. Scientific advisers have warned that raising the dam wall could place the Blue Mountains’ world heritage listing and endangered species at risk.
Declaring the project ‘Critical State Significant Infrastructure’ gives Planning Minister Anthony Roberts the final say at State level on whether it goes ahead. But the project will ultimately be decided under Commonwealth law by federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. The project cannot proceed unless Plibersek gives it the green light because threatened species likely to be negatively impacted by the project are protected under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Raising the dam wall would flood 50 sq km of the Burragorang Valley, including the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and likely have negative impacts on a range of threatened plants and animals, including rare Sydney rainforest habitat, koalas, greater gliders and the regent honeyeater. Trout and endangered Macquarie perch habitat will be lost if water levels are raised and exclusion zones will be expanded around the dam, further limiting recreational angler access.
An environmental-impact statement on the project has yet to be completed.
NSW Labor has ruled out raising the wall, saying the government is pandering to developers at the cost of the environment. Labor is consulting with experts on options to lower the amount of water the dam holds by 12 metres, to create more head room for high inflow into the dam. The cost of this option is also very high, said to be $1 billion to modify the existing floodgate and $3–4 billion is needed to build another desalination plant to meet Sydney’s drinking water demands.
