Warragamba Dam hits 100% capacity

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Warragamba Dam hits capacity and starts to spill after heavy rainfall
By 9News Staff
2:24am Nov 14, 2021

Warragamba Dam in Sydney's south west has hit 100 per cent capacity overnight following the wet weather during the week.
As a result of the rainfall the dam commenced spilling shortly before midnight.

Earlier on Saturday afternoon the dam was just 13cm from full shortly before 3pm and was at 5cm from full around 9pm, tipping capacity around 11pm.
Warragamba Dam began releasing water through the crest gates around midnight Water NSW said, with the spill from the dam expected to continue for one week.
As a result river heights may increase over this period.
Elsewhere in NSW, the SES is sandbagging around Forbes and Cowra where the Wyangala Dam is spilling.

SALLY SARA: What will it mean for Australian farmers if the predictions of climate change are correct and little is done to stop it? What will that mean for a farmer?

PROFESSOR TIM FLANNERY: We're already seeing the initial impacts and they include a decline in the winter rainfall zone across southern Australia, which is clearly an impact of climate change, but also a decrease in run-off. Although we're getting say a 20 per cent decrease in rainfall in some areas of Australia, that's translating to a 60 per cent decrease in the run-off into the dams and rivers. That's because the soil is warmer because of global warming and the plants are under more stress and therefore using more moisture. So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems, and that's a real worry for the people in the bush. If that trend continues then I think we're going to have serious problems, particularly for irrigation.