A long-term plan to reduce flood risk in the most flood exposed region in New South Wales, the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley (the valley) covers around 500sqm from Bents Basin, near Wallacia, to the Brooklyn Bridge. The valley has the highest flood exposure in NSW because of its unique landscape and large existing population. Floods in the valley can be very deep and extensive, and can have a significant impact on people’s lives, livelihoods and homes. Watch the why Hawkesbury-Nepean floods are so dangerous video.
The NSW Government is delivering the Resilient Valley, Resilient Communities – Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy (Flood Strategy) to reduce and manage the risk of flooding in the region – now and into the future.
The Flood Strategy is the result of years of investigation into the best ways to reduce the potential economic and social impacts of flooding in the valley. It uses a regional approach as floods from the river system cover a wide area, with impacts felt in 10 local council areas.
Key publications:
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy 2017
Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy - Taskforce Options Assessment Report 2019
For more information, read publications and frequently asked questions.
There is no simple solution to managing or reducing the valley’s high flood risk. The NSW Government is delivering the Flood Strategy program, together with local councils, businesses and the community.
The program is aligned with the State Emergency Management Plan and the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience. These strategies are the state and national standard for managing the risks of natural disasters. Emergency management in Australia is built on the emergency management cycle which has four elements: prevention, preparation, response and recovery (PPRR).
This involves a range of projects to meet the Flood Strategy’s nine outcomes:
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Flood Strategy outcomes |
Activities |
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1. Regional, coordinated flood risk management Lead: Infrastructure NSW |
Coordination and oversight of the Flood Strategy program, and coordination of flood risk management responsibilities at a regional level. Infrastructure NSW has a dedicated directorate that includes flood risk and evacuation specialists, GIS mapping analysts, and community engagement and resilience specialists. |
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2. Infrastructure measures to reduce flood risk Lead: WaterNSW |
A range of infrastructure measures have been investigated to reduce flood risk. The Warragamba Dam raising proposal was investigated and is not proceeding. Please visit WaterNSW or the Department of Planning and Environment to find out more. |
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3. Strategic and integrated land use and road planning Lead: NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Transport for NSW |
A Regional Land Use Planning Framework is being developed to establish a new land use and settlement strategy for the valley. This will help to address the significant flood risk in the valley, in alignment with approaches being developed for evacuation road planning. Read some frequently asked questions about land use planning. |
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4. Contemporary flood risk information Lead: Infrastructure NSW |
A new Hawkesbury Nepean Valley Regional Flood Study was completed in 2019 using the latest data and science available and a sound scientific approach. Read the Flood Study Overview. Further work is underway to increase understanding of flood behaviour using latest information including recent floods from 2020, 2021 and 2022. Public consultation on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Flood Study is planned for early-2023. |
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5. An aware, prepared and responsive community Lead: Infrastructure NSW and NSW State Emergency Service Transport for NSW |
An extensive Community Resilience Program aims to increase flood awareness and preparedness. This includes programs for:
Read an overview of the Community Resilience Program or watch the Community Resilience Program showcase video. |
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6. Improved weather and flood predictions Lead: Bureau of Meteorology |
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Advanced Flood Forecasting pilot project has developed new rainfall and flood forecasting tools which will provide better information about the timing, behaviour and heights of floods. This will help emergency services to understand and respond to floods which, in turn, helps the community to respond to flood alerts and warnings. |
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7. Best practice emergency response and recovery Lead: NSW State Emergency Service, Resilience NSW |
Emergency response and recovery agencies work together to maintain, test and enhance capability in the floodplain. In 2019, a series of exercises was delivered across the emergency management sector to test and improve coordination of response to and recovery from a major flood in the valley. The Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Plan continues to be updated to take account of contemporary flood risk information including recent flood events in 2020 and 2021. |
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8. Adequate local roads for evacuation Lead: Transport for NSW |
The Flood Strategy identified the need to deliver a resilience roads package to maintain and upgrade local evacuation roads to ensure access to major regional evacuation routes. Local flood modelling and technical assessments were undertaken to identify and prioritise appropriate road upgrades for the package. A strategic-level business case has been developed for NSW Government consideration. |
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9. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation, reporting and improvement of the Flood Strategy Lead: Infrastructure NSW |
A framework has been developed and is being implemented to monitor, evaluate, review and improve the Flood Strategy program over time. Key considerations include potential changes to community profiles and preparedness, urban development, road evacuation capacity, climate change and experience from flood events. View the interim evaluation report. |
Read the Flood Strategy and frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Flood Strategy.
Agricultural lands as floodwaters recede (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Approach to Yarramundi Bridge flooded (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Farm infrastructure impacted in the Hawkesbury lowlands (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Flooded recreational area near Yarramundi (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Floodwaters nearing homes in Regentville close to flood peak (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Hawkesbury caravan park flooded (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Isolated communities were resupplied by boat (24 March 2021) - Image by Top Notch Video
Junction Hawkesbury and Macdonald rivers, Wisemans Ferry as floodwaters recede (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Looking over floodwaters at Windsor – South Creek (left) and Hawkesbury River (right) (24 March 2021) - Photo by Top Notch Video
New Windsor Bridge underwater (March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
River Road, Emu Plains near peak of flood (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Roads underwater and debris, upstream of Windsor Bridge ( XX March 2021 flood) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
St Georges Ski Park flood damage (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Suburban streets flooded in McGraths Hill (24 March 2021) - Image by Top Notch Video
Vegetation flattened on the Nepean River (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Victoria Bridge over the Nepean River at Penrith near flood peak (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Warragamba Dam spilling (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Windsor Road in foreground as floodwaters recede (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Windsor surrounded by water from South Creek (left) and Hawkesbury River as floodwaters recede (26 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Yarramundi Bridge underwater (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Yarramundi Road flooded, Grose River on right and Hawkesbury River on left (21 March 2021) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Aerial South Creek flooding, Dunheved Road (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Car in floodwater on Mulgoa Road, Jerrys Creek #2 (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Car in floodwater, Jerrys Creek Mulgoa Road #2 (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Mckenzies Creek, Pitt Town Road #2 (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Submerged car, Mulgrave Road (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
View west along Bells Line of Road near North Richmond Bridge (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Crowd watching floodwater at old and new Windsor bridges (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
New Windsor Bridge under construction (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Old Windsor Bridge (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Nepean River at Yarramundi Bridge (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Stranded trucks in floodwater (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
View from Windsor across flooded old Windsor Bridge (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Old and new Windsor Bridge (9 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
North Street cottages, Windsor (circa 1960s) - Photo courtesy Abigail Ball
Aerial view east across McGraths Hill (May 1988) - Photo by Drew Bewsher
Flooding at South Creek #2 (June 1949)
Aerial view of Hawkesbury flats (May 1988) - Photo by Drew Bewsher
Stranded on roof (November 1961) - Photo courtesy Barry Gibbs collection Hawkesbury City Council Library Service
People gathered by floodwater at Windsor (November 1961) - Photo courtesy Barry Gibbs collection Hawkesbury City Council Library Service
Flooded house, Mileham Street in South Windsor (November 1961) - Photo courtesy Barry Gibbs collection Hawkesbury City Council Library Service
Kable Street Service Station, Windsor (november 1961) - Photo courtesy Barry Gibbs collection Hawkesbury City Council Library Service
View from Windsor across Hawkesbury River at Windsor Bridge (November 1961) - Photo courtesy Barry Gibbs collection Hawkesbury City Council Library Service
Werrington flooding at sports ground (10 February 2020) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Geography Students Piloting the Water in the World School Geography Resource - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Flood Emergency Planning for Schools Flood Risk Briefings - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Flood Emergency Planning for Schools Flood Risk Briefings - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Flood awareness workshops with diverse communities in western Sydney, photo by Adam Hollingworth.
Flood awareness workshops with diverse communities in western Sydney, photo by Adam Hollingworth.
Flood awareness workshops with diverse communities in western Sydney, photo by Adam Hollingworth.
Horse Safety and Care workshop at Richmond TAFE (14 July 2019) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Horse Safety and Care workshop at Richmond TAFE (14 July 2019) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
Horse Safety and Care workshop at Richmond TAFE (14 July 2019) - Photo by Adam Hollingworth
The NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) has launched a tailored public campaign focused on culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREInfrastructure NSW, Resilience NSW and the NSW State Emergency Service have together won the national Emergency Media and Public Affairs (EMPA) award for ‘Excellence in Readiness & Resilience’.
READ MOREEvacuating during a natural disaster such as a flood or fire can be an incredibly stressful situation and is further complicated when pets or livestock are involved.
READ MOREA public campaign to promote flood preparedness in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley has been launched by the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) and Resilience NSW, in partnership with Infrastructure NSW.
READ MOREA community resilience program designed to raise flood awareness and preparedness in the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley has been awarded the 2021 Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) NRMA Insurance Flood Risk Management Project of the Year.
READ MOREThe March 2021 flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean was the largest flood in the region since August 1990. It has been classified as a moderate to major flood, peaking at 12.9 metres above sea level at Windsor.
READ MOREThere are around 40 caravan and ski parks across the Hawkesbury-Nepean region, and many have a high flood risk due to their proximity to the river. A project is being delivered to help make caravan and ski parks in the area become more flood resilient.
READ MOREThe third phase of the “Floods. The Risk is Real” public safety campaign has been launched by the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) and Resilience NSW.
READ MOREPrimary school teachers and students in the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain and across NSW will now benefit from a new flood risk educational resource – Water in the Valley.
READ MOREThe second phase of the “Floods. The Risk is Real” public safety campaign has been launched by the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES).
READ MOREInfrastructure NSW (INSW) has been acknowledged for our innovative partnership approach to build community awareness and preparedness in the most flood exposed area of NSW – the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREA series of workshops has been delivered to raise flood awareness and preparedness for some of the many diverse communities in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MORENew best practice geography educational resources have been launched to build student understanding of flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREDirectors and staff from nearly 40 schools in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley gathered in August and September 2019 to discuss their emergency management arrangements for flood and other natural disasters.
READ MOREA public safety campaign has been launched by the NSW State Emergency Service to raise the flood awareness and preparedness of Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley residents.
READ MORETwo whole day workshops were delivered between March and September 2019 to managers and key staff at Residential Aged Care services in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley floodplain.
READ MOREA series of workshops delivered by the Australian Red Cross has strengthened the ability of children’s services in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley to plan for natural disasters, particularly flood.
READ MORERead our latest Community Update to find out more about the new Regional Flood Study for the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and all the other work currently underway to reduce and manage the significant flood-risk in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREThe NSW Government has prepared a new Regional Flood Study overview providing the most up-to-date information and maps on river flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREInfrastructure NSW recently teamed up with several other agencies to deliver a specialised Horse Care and Safety Open Day that focused on helping owners keep their animals safe during natural disasters such as floods.
READ MOREThe experience from other natural disasters across Australia shows that people who have existing social and/or physical vulnerabilities are at a higher risk during emergencies.
READ MORENSW Government recently partnered with the University of Sydney, NSW State Emergency Service, Office of Emergency Management and local councils to deliver flood awareness training and emergency preparedness resources to disability and aged care workers who support people in their own homes.
READ MOREMore than 150 new signs have been installed across the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. The new signage system will help guide residents along key flood evacuation routes and out of the floodplain in the Penrith, Hawkesbury, Hills and Blacktown council areas.
READ MOREWork is currently underway to reduce and manage the significant flood-risk in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. The September Community Update contains all the latest information.
READ MORECome see us at the following locations to talk about flooding, the Flood Strategy program, and the proposal to raise Warragamba Dam Raising for flood mitigation.
READ MOREThe 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.
READ MOREThe Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres and Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies today announced significant progress on new flood evacuation signage for the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MORE
We will be joining the NSW SES at their tent again this year at the Hawkesbury Show 2018. Come see us at the show to talk about flooding, the Flood Strategy program, and how you can be involved.
READ MOREThe Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) has selected North Richmond for one of three community led emergency pilots in NSW.
READ MOREThe cornerstone of the Flood Strategy is the proposal to raise Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation. The environmental assessment for this proposal has started, and the project team have been out and about talking to people across the valley.
READ MOREFrom 23 to 25 June 2017, Infrastructure NSW and NSW State Emergency Service took part in an anniversary program hosted by Hawkesbury City Council to mark 150 years since the historic Hawkesbury-Nepean flood – our worst since European settlement.
READ MORENSW Treasurer and Member for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres today released the long-term plan to mitigate flood risk for the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MOREThe NSW Government has announced the Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Risk Management Strategy to reduce the potential flood risk to life, the economy and social amenity in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.
READ MORE