14m flood at North Richmond

FACT CHECK (Updated 2.30pm): We are hearing of a story circulating that Warragamba is being released tonight resulting in a 14m flood at North Richmond.

The dam has actually been above capacity and spilling for a while now. We can’t see Water NSW wanting to override the spill protocols to increase the volume of water released on top of heavy rainfalls in the basin.

Further, Water NSW provide warnings prior to commencing any drawdowns and there has been no such alert.

We understand that everyone is edgy about another flood but at this stage there is no indication that the Hawkesbury/Nepean will even reach a minor flood level with the current rainfall forecast.

There is no flood warning current for the rivers, just a very general flood watch.

These are meant to alert residents of a potential flood, they are not a warning that there will be a flood.

A flood warning will be released if a flood event becomes likely.

EDIT: Water NSW have released a statement advising the dam spill will likely increase due to rain forecasts but there is no planned drawdown or significant impact predicted from the spilling.

https://www.waternsw.com.au/about/newsroom/2022/warragamba-to-spill-again-as-rain-event-hits-sydney

Source of information – https://www.facebook.com/HawkesburyFloodStatisticsUnit/