TALKING ABOUT REGIONAL FLOODING AT THE HAWKESBURY SHOW 2018

The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Directorate, Infrastructure NSW joined the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) at their tent again this year at the Hawkesbury Show from Friday 20 April to Sunday 22 April 2018.

The NSW SES tent this year focussed on ‘Now and Then’ – looking at the change in the approach to the NSW SES methods and tools over time. The fantastic display won second in show for best public service display.

The theme of the tent set a great backdrop for our conversations with people about flooding. As it hasn’t flooded for some time in the valley, we talked about floods of the past and heard many stories from current and former residents about their flood experiences.

One local resident shared a story about his parents who were market gardeners and had experienced hardship after their land was flooded in the last major flood in 1990. His story is a reminder that while it hasn’t flooded in the valley for some time, the valley does flood and it will flood again.

We also asked may new residents ‘Do you live in a floodplain?’ and chatted over flood maps to help explain the risks across the Valley.

Over the three days, we spoke with hundreds of people and shared what the NSW Government is doing to help reduce the flood risk in the valley. This includes the proposal to raise Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation. Our WaterNSW colleagues joined us at the show to talk through the dam raising proposal and discuss the environmental assessment process currently underway.

We also spoke about what people can do to better prepare themselves for future floods such as knowing your flood risk, planning now for what you will do if you need to evacuate and preparing your home.

Find out more about how to prepare for a flood at: www.ses.nsw.gov.au