19th March, 2026.
In introducing the Water NSW Amendment (Warragamba Dam) Bill 2026, I hope to draw a distinction between the previously debated poor plans to raise the dam wall and now giving rights to use the current dam for flood mitigation downstream. The bill is for an Act to amend the Water NSW Act 2014 to repeal provisions relating to Warragamba Dam that previously allowed for the temporary inundation of national park land that could likely result from raising the dam wall, and it authorises WaterNSW to operate Warragamba Dam to facilitate downstream flood mitigation for related purposes.
This bill is a straightforward yet essential step to protect one of New South Wales's most iconic and sensitive natural assets: Warragamba Dam and the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Located 65 kilometres west of Sydney in a narrow gorge on the Warragamba River, the dam was built between 1942 and 1960 forming Lake Burragorang, Australia's largest urban water supply. It holds four times the volume of Sydney Harbour, serving nearly four million people. But its history is not just about water storage; it is about balancing human needs with environmental and cultural preservation.
The proposal to raise the dam wall by 14 metres, which was pushed by the previous Government, was deeply flawed. It promised flood mitigation but ignored the facts—45 per cent of floodwaters in the Hawkesbury‑Nepean Valley come from tributaries and rivers downstream, not over the dam. As Premier Chris Minns stated in this House on 30 May 2023, "The Government will not be progressing with raising the Warragamba Dam wall by 14 metres." He highlighted the cost explosion—from $690 million under Mike Baird to $2 billion for construction plus $1 billion in offsets—and the lack of funding in the previous budget. More critically, raising the wall would inundate 4,700 hectares of World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park and destroy flora, fauna and over 1,200 Aboriginal sites and artifacts.
For Gundungurra traditional owners, that was a direct threat to their cultural heritage. When the plan was scrapped in October 2023, elder Kazan Brown said in The Guardian that it was "the best news in eight years" and it lifted a "big weight off our shoulders". While the announcement was welcomed, everyone called for lasting protections, such as including Lake Burragorang in the World Heritage listing. This bill answers that call by repealing part 5A of the Water NSW Act 2014, introduced in 2018, which enabled the temporary inundation of national park land for wall raising. Sections 64C and 64E mandated environmental plans tied to this destructive path, overriding National Parks and Wildlife Act safeguards. Repealing them ensures no future government can revive that "terrible plan", as I described it in my 7 August 2024 question to the Premier when he committed to working with me on legislative changes.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned in 2022 that raising the wall could place the Blue Mountains on the "in-danger" list. It threatens species like the regent honeyeater and Camden white gum by flooding habitats in a pristine ecosystem. Former emergency services Minister David Elliott's 2021 admission that it could "release more land in the north-west for construction and development" exposed the real motive—enabling floodplain sprawl—and contradicted assurances from Stuart Ayres. The 2023 cancellation withdrew critical State infrastructure status. It was a smart move, but it was incomplete without this repeal. Yet repeal must not hinder safe operations or flood mitigation efforts downstream. The bill adds a new section authorising WaterNSW to operate the Warragamba Dam as it is to facilitate flood mitigation downstream of the dam. That addresses the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Authority [IPART] licence restrictions, which limit any mitigation outside Sydney's catchment.
As the Parliamentary Research Service's September 2022 paper entitled Operating Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation: current legal and regulatory barriers notes, amendments are needed for flexibility. Inserting that into new section 7 (1) (l) ensures lowering levels for flood prevention without wall raising or national park inundation. To be clear, that would allow the gradual lowering of the water level ahead of a known flood event to prevent huge inundation downstream during that event. At the moment, because of the previously mentioned IPART licensing restrictions, they are not allowed to take steps to mitigate because they are in the Sydney catchment. Alternatives are viable and cheaper. Minister Rose Jackson's 24 April proposal to lower dam levels and boost desalination, doubling output to 30 per cent of Sydney's needs, offers another practical path. In my 5 November 2025 letter to the Premier and Minister, I invited discussion at the dam and sought support for this bill delivering on our shared commitments. This bill does that. It protects heritage.