Latest news with #WaterNSW
ABC News
08-07-2025
- Science
- ABC News
NSW authorities investigate mass fish kill event at Lake Cargelligo
The New South Wales fisheries department is investigating a mass fish kill at an inland lake in the west of the state. Aquatic ecologist Adam Kerezsy started seeing small numbers of dead fish at Lake Cargelligo and nearby Lake Curlew a fortnight ago. It has since escalated, with thousands of the small silver fish now covering the banks of the lake near the township, about 200 kilometres west of Parkes. The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) said in a statement it was "aware of a fish kill event in Lake Cargelligo which has affected a large number of bony herring". It said it was taking the matter "extremely seriously" and had launched an investigation into the cause. It said DPIRD Fisheries would be working with WaterNSW and other agencies to conduct site investigations and sampling. The event appears to have only affected a single species, the bony bream or bony herring, which is one of the most common natives in the Murray-Darling Basin system. It is consumed by other species including Murray cod, golden perch and water birds. Dr Kerezsy, who lives at Lake Cargelligo, said it was unusual for the area, with the last mass bony bream die-off around 2010. While he was uncertain on the cause, he suspected it could be linked to a recent cold snap or low water levels. "Maybe when you get a combination of a cold spell and not much water … that might be enough to knock them," he said. "It might demonstrate something we didn't know about how these animals die off in the winter." In June, WaterNSW, which manages Lake Cargelligo, announced it was starting more works to improve flood-damaged and old embankments. Since then, the water authority has dropped the lake's water levels from approximately 57 to 53 per cent capacity, its lowest point since March 2024. It is set to remain at or below that level for about six months while the infrastructure is repaired. In a statement, a WaterNSW spokesperson said it was "aware of the fish deaths at Lake Cargelligo and will support DPIRD Fisheries in any investigation undertaken as required".
7NEWS
03-07-2025
- Climate
- 7NEWS
Severe weather continues to hit parts of NSW as warnings begin to ease for others
Severe winds, flooding, and damaging surf conditions continue to smash parts of NSW but the powerful 'bomb cyclone' is now beginning to ease. A series of low-pressure systems remain in the Tasman Sea and, although a secondary low that was moving northwards just offshore from the NSW coast has begun to weaken, strong gale force winds are still being generated, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Peak gusts of about 100km/h are forecast for parts of the Northern Tablelands, Mid-North Coast hinterland and Border Ranges near Queensland, however, are expected to begin to ease late Thursday morning. Wind gust of up to 104km/h were recorded at Montague Island Lighthouse, off the South Coast near Narooma, late on Wednesday. Warragamba Dam in Western Sydney began to spill after reaching capacity about 10.30pm. WaterNSW said current modelling shows the dam could spill at a peak rate of approximately 60 gigalitres per day. 'The duration and volume of the spill will ultimately be determined by rainfall received across the catchment,' it said. 'The community should continue to monitor advice on river levels and any flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology.' The gates on Warragamba Dam automatically open and close based on water levels. 'When the water rises above full supply level, the gates progressively open in sequence,' WaterNSW said. 'As water levels begin to drop, the gates will progressively close in reverse sequence.' Minor flooding had been recorded at multiple rivers across the state, including the Colo, Georges and Woronora, Moruya and Deua Rivers, Cooks, Bega and Snowy rivers, according to BOM. Power restored to some, not all Ausgrid said its emergency crews have restored power to more than 46,000 homes after two days of heavy rain and high winds brought down trees and powerlines across the network. 'Around 1,650 customers with complex repairs or access issues remain without power this morning,' it said on Thursday. 'In the Sydney region, there are 150 customers still to be reconnected, 950 on the Central Coast and in the Newcastle and Hunter area there are 550 to go. 'It's expected the majority of these customers will be restored today.' The SES responded to more than 1,400 incidents in 24 hours, including two flood rescues, however the majority of call-outs were for fallen trees, downed power lines and damaged roofs. Flood warnings are still current for multiple catchments, including the Upper Nepean, Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean, Shoalhaven, St George's Basin and Bemm, Cann and Genoa. The rainfall is expected to ease across the state from Thursday. Damaging surf conditions, which may lead to coastal erosion and localised damage to coastal infrastructure, are likely for coastlines as far north as Seal Rocks and as south as the Victorian border. 'Beach conditions in these areas could be dangerous and people should stay well away from the surf and surf exposed areas,' BOM said. Waves as high as 6.6m were recorded at Batemans Bay and Eden, while a 5.2m wave was recorded at Sydney's Northern Beaches. Stream free on
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Australia news live: NSW storm will ease this morning, BoM says; Qantas customers told to be on alert after hack
Update: Date: 2025-07-02T20:49:50.000Z Title: Sydney's Warragamba Dam set to spill after heavy rain Content: Water flowing out of Australia's largest urban water supply will add to the risk of flooding after a damaging and complex low pressure system caused widespread havoc, Australian Associated Press reports. Warragamba Dam west of Sydney was expected to begin a 'moderate spill' into this morning after days of heavy rain, WaterNSW said. Following recent rainfall, Warragamba Dam is close to full capacity and a moderate spill is anticipated later tonight. Check for weather and flood warnings. For emergency information, contact the NSW SES - 132 500 State regulations do not allow water to be released at the dam before predicted rainfall or to mitigate floods as it supplies 80% of Sydney's drinking water. Spills at the dam are not uncommon, previously occurring in May, and three times in 2024. Warragamba Dam flows into the Hawkesbury-Nepean river catchment, where the bureau has warned flooding could occur today. Other, smaller dams were also spilling after reaching capacity following heavy rains. Read more here: Update: Date: 2025-07-02T20:47:39.000Z Title: NSW low-pressure system will ease this morning, says BoM Content: The Bureau of Meteorology said this morning that a series of low pressure systems that has battered New South Wales remain in the Tasman Sea. But a secondary low that was moving northwards and brought more wild weather has begun to weaken. Winds are expected to ease today around higher ground in the north of the state later during the morning, the BoM said. There would be strong to damaging west to south-westerly winds averaging 55 to 65 kmh, the 4am update said, with peak gusts of around 100 kmh likely around parts of the Northern Tablelands, the mid-north coast hinterland and the Border Ranges. But the wind is expected to ease later this morning. Severe weather 'is no longer occurring in the Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra and South Coast districts', the BoM said, and the warning for these districts was cancelled. However, there would damaging surf conditions on the coast between Seal Rocks in the north to the Victorian border with the threat of 'coastal erosion and localised damage to coastal infrastructure'. Update: Date: 2025-07-02T20:47:19.000Z Title: Qantas customers told to stay on high alert Content: Qantas customers have been told to be on high alert for scams after one of the worst cyber attacks in months, Australian Associated Press reports. Qantas yesterday revealed a cyber incident on a third-party platform used by the airline's contact centre that exposed the details of six million customers. Names, phone numbers, dates of birth and email addresses are among the data believed to be exposed in the leak. But Qantas reassured customers financial information, passport numbers, credit card details and frequent flyer PIN codes were not accessed. Customers are urged to stay on high alert in coming months because they may experience targeted phishing scams. The type of personal information could be used in further cyber attacks, a security expert says. 'I think even with reassurances, the breach of names, email addresses, phone numbers and perhaps most importantly, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers, it's still significant,' the executive director of Macquarie University's cyber security hub, Prof Dali Kaafar, said. Kaafar said the details could lead to malicious actors building a more complete profile about individuals to make them more susceptible to other forms of cybercrime. Qantas launched an investigation into the attack on Wednesday as customers reeled from the news. There has been no confirmation of the group responsible. Qantas shares on the ASX shed about 3.6% to $10.38 on Wednesday in response to the news. Update: Date: 2025-07-02T20:46:53.000Z Title: Welcome Content: Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer bringing you the early headlines and breaking news and then it'll be Rafqa Touma in the chair. There is relief in sight for wind and rain-battered New South Wales after the Bureau of Meteorology said this morning that the low pressure system that has caused havoc for the state has begun to weaken. However, it looks like there will still be high winds and damaging surf conditions today. More coming up. Qantas customers have been told to be on high alert for scams after another cyber attacks hit the company this week and exposed the details of six million customers. More coming up.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
NSW wild weather: dam spill heightens flood threat as storm wreaks havoc
Water flowing out of Australia's largest urban water supply will add to the risk of flooding after a damaging and complex low-pressure system caused widespread havoc. Warragamba Dam, west of Sydney, was expected to begin a 'moderate spill' overnight into Thursday after days of heavy rain, WaterNSW said. 'The duration and volume of the spill will ultimately be determined by rainfall received across the catchment,' it said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Thousands of people are without power, trees have been uprooted and beaches eroded after the wild weather system battered large parts of Australia's east coast. State regulations do not allow water to be released at Warragamba Dam before predicted rainfall or to mitigate floods as it supplies 80% of Sydney's drinking water. Spills at the dam are not uncommon, previously occurring in May, and three times in 2024. Warragamba Dam flows into the Hawkesbury-Nepean river catchment, where the bureau has warned flooding could occur on Thursday. Other, smaller dams were also spilling after reaching capacity after heavy rains. The downpours formed part of a 'vigorous' east coast low the Bureau of Meteorology predicted would move into the Tasman Sea. Lord Howe Island residents were warned to prepare for increased winds and elevated seas, with waves up above five metres. Damaging winds with gusts up to 100km/h were expected to continue through the morning around parts of northern NSW. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion More than 3,400 incidents were reported to the SES during the weather event, beginning on Monday, with 10 flood rescues. Additional crews from the ACT were joining the response and recovery efforts late on Wednesday. About 8,000 Endeavour Energy customers were without electricity as crews worked to restore power on Wednesday night, down from a peak of 30,000. Dozens of properties were under evacuation warnings due to flooding at Burrill Lake and Sanctuary Point near Jervis Bay. In nearby Sussex Inlet, Fay Brown was stranded when roads approaching the Badgee Bridge flooded. Without a four-wheel drive, Brown would have used a flood access road, but the local council continued a longstanding practice of blocking the road rather than allowing residential access. 'This happens every time we have heavy days of rain. I've lived here 11 years and been stuck on at least five occasions,' she said. 'Once we were stuck there for four days.'
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Thousands of Australians without power and flash flood warnings in place after ‘bomb cyclone'
Emergency crews are scrambling to keep up with rising rivers and widespread damage as a powerful coastal storm battering eastern Australia leaves roads flooded, trees fallen and tens of thousands of people without power. The storm system, initially referred to as a ' bomb cyclone', intensified overnight on Tuesday and dumped more than 150mm rain in parts of coastal New South Wales and triggered damaging winds reaching 125kmph. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of damaging winds and dangerous surf continuing into Thursday morning, with gusts of up to 100kmph still possible inland. A coastal hazard warning remained in place for the entire NSW coastline, with waves of up to 7 metres forecast to pound beaches from Seal Rocks to the Victorian border, threatening severe coastal erosion. Flooding is now a key concern as rivers across Sydney's west and the state's south coast rise sharply. The NSW SES has issued advice-level flood warnings for Camden, Penrith and North Richmond, with the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers expected to rise rapidly overnight. Authorities also warned that the Warragamba Dam – Sydney's largest water reservoir – was approaching full capacity and would likely spill by Thursday morning, raising fears of downstream flooding similar to past flood events in western Sydney. In a statement, WaterNSW said the expected overflow would be 'moderate', with a peak spill rate of around 60 gigalitres a day, though the exact volume would depend on how much more rain fell across the catchment today. Power outages have affected around 30,000 homes and businesses, with Endeavour Energy reporting about 400 electrical hazards caused by fallen trees and powerlines. While crews restored power to most areas through the day, nearly 9,000 customers remained in the dark. 'We hope to get over 80 per cent of those customers that are currently affected back on tonight,' David Campbell, general manager of safety and operations at Endeavour Energy, told ABC. 'There will be some customers unfortunately that will be without power tonight, we will get all of them back on tomorrow.' Transport chaos has deepened with 140 flights cancelled at the Sydney airport, following 145 cancellations on Tuesday. Major rail lines have been suspended by fallen trees and power failures, and ferry services across Sydney Harbour have faced widespread disruptions. Roads across Greater Sydney and the Illawarra remain littered with debris, with 20 closures reported at the peak of the storm. Emergency services have responded to nearly 3,400 incidents since the wild weather began, including 10 flood rescues. NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz said the storm's southern flank was the current area of greatest concern, particularly around Sussex Inlet, Burrill Lake and Shoalhaven, with conditions expected to worsen into Thursday. Experts say repeated flooding events are becoming more frequent and more psychologically and financially damaging in Australia. 'Any experience of flooding can have harmful psychological impacts but we know it's even worse when people go through multiple events, especially back to back like we're starting to see more often,' Dr Lauren Vinnell of Massey University said. Climate experts point to unusually warm ocean waters off Australia's east coast as a key driver of this storm's intensity. Dr Martin Jucker of UNSW said: 'The very high water temperatures off the eastern Australian coast would help such systems become intense by providing the necessary moisture from the warm ocean surface.' While some people have referred to the storm as a ' bomb cyclone ' – a term used internationally when a low-pressure system deepens rapidly – Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has avoided using it. Senior meteorologist Jonathan How told Nine's Today programme that they did not really use the term much. 'We just talk about a low pressure system deepening very quickly because 'bomb' can sort of create a little bit more panic,' he explained, adding that this made it 'a little bit more scary than what it actually is'. A significant fall in pressure of 20 to 30 hectopascals over the past two days has transformed the coastal low into a severe storm but the bureau has instead described it as a 'vigorous coastal low'. The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts conditions to start easing late Thursday as the storm moves east into the Tasman Sea, but people across NSW's south coast and inland catchments are being urged to stay alert for flash flooding, falling trees and continued power outages.
