Cowra mayor Bill West has described Infrastructure NSW as having "blinkered vision" after it released a report this week suggesting the Wyangala Dam wall raising project not proceed.
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Since the report's release NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson has said the government has not changed its commitment to the Wyangala project.
"I don't want to deal with hypotheticals and have a project put on the backburner because someone thinks that it's going to be a problem," Mr Anderson said.
"If we went down that path nothing would ever get built," he said.
On Friday Cr West said it would be totally irresponsible of the NSW State Government not to continue with the business case and environmental impact statement for the project.
"We can then have conversations around accurate information and informed decisions, not this rubbish scuttlebutt," Cr West said.
"Infrastructure NSW has produced a very much city centric report and I would go as far as to say they have a blinkered vision which doesn't allow them to see beyond the Blue Mountains.
"There is some relief that the Minister has expressed some desire to proceed but they need to stop the rumourmongering and scaremongering.
"The project needs to continue for flood mitigation. There will be another drought. We know that with climate change there will be bigger storm events and longer droughts.
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"Communities affected by drought and flood along the Lachlan must have their dam wall raised at Wyangala for the same reasons that Warragamba needs to have its wall raised," Cr West said.
He has received support from other mayors along the Lachlan with Forbes mayor Phyllis Miler, OAM, also saying the dam upgrade is essential for flood mitigation.
"Having the Newell Highway closed for six weeks due to flooding is surely a call to action on dam wall raising," Cr Miller said.
"The 2016 flood cost the nation at least $150m in productivity on the Newell and not a thing has been done to help the situation since.
"All of the businesses along the Lachlan are significantly financially impacted every flood," Cr Miller said.
In support of councillors West and Miller, Parkes mayor Ken Keith, OAM said: "Given that the Lachlan is a terminal system, there is also potential to leverage the extra water security that the dam wall raising will provide for growth in the agricultural sector and potential for high value and value add in production".
Chair of the Central NSW Joint Organisation, of which Cowra, Parkes and Forbes are all members, Cr Kevin Beatty of Cabonne Shire, said the council had been working on options for improved water security for decades.
"We know what our options are both in terms of infrastructure and management solutions," Cr Beatty said.
"With all of the water saving, sharing and multi source approaches -quite simply - we need more storage.
"We have been working with the State on various options for decades.
"Raising the wall at Wyangala has been identified as the option to progress and we ought just get on with it as the security in the Lachlan is well below other catchments," Cr Beatty said.
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