NSW flows loom
Inland NSW communities are on high flood alert amid releases from dams.
Several catchments saw up to 90 millimetres of rain earlier this week, water releases from the Wyangala Dam in the central west have increased to 125,000 megalitres a day and peaked at 120,000 megalitres at Burrinjuck Dam west of Canberra.
Forbes, downstream of the Wyangala Dam, is anticipating floodwater at levels not seen in 70 years later this week.
It is a matter of weeks since hundreds of residents, including the central business district, were ordered to evacuate due to the flood risk.
WaterNSW's executive manager of operations, Ronan Magaharan, says the past few months have been “unprecedented”.
“It really is challenging for us to get the storage down to a level where that rain, when it does come again, we are able to capture it all and not make releases,” he said.
“It is really challenging for the team to get that right and not contribute to floods downstream.”