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Residents in low-lying areas of the Nepean River were warned at 4.20am on Friday that the Warragamba Dam had begun to spillway.
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This is the third consecutive month that the dam has released water. The dam supplies 80 per cent of Sydney’s drinking water and is therefore not allowed to release water ahead of forecast rainfall to reduce storage levels and ease flooding.
The Nepean River at Menangale Bridge, southwest of Sydney, has reached 7.04 metres and is still falling. It is expected to remain above the minor flood level until Saturday afternoon.
Minor flooding is occurring along the Nepean River at Penrith, and flooding is possible along the Hawkesbury River at Sackville.
The SES said they had set up a resupply area at Wiseman’s Ferry on Saturday morning and crews would be doing door-to-door resupply.
Road closures include Menangale Bridge, Camden Valley Road, Yarramundi Bridge and Richmond Bridge. Windsor Bridge remains open for now.
Ferry services were affected overnight and Transport for NSW said operations would be assessed during the day depending on river conditions.
An evacuation center has been set up at the Richmond Club at 6 East Market Street in Richmond.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hynes said a low pressure system over southeastern Australia would move out on Saturday, bringing rain.
“Some areas south of Sydney and the Illawarra have received 200 to 300 millimetres of rain in less than three days over the past few days, which is about two months’ worth of rain,” he said.
“Because we do see some heavy rain, there may still be some flood warnings in place because levels on those rivers are really high at the moment as a result of that rainfall.”
With Jessica McSweeney and Catherine Naylor
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