Sky News Australia special report into flooding on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btoFN1KSLAU
As I have been saying for years, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River will flood again. It's a statistical certainty.
I am heartened a major news outlet like Sky News Australia have recently run a four part investigative series on the subject in June 2022 on their Sky Weather channel. What they had to report should concern everyone in the…
The Hawkesbury River Flood of April 2024
A rare "rain bomb" again plunged the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and the communities that live and work along its banks into crisis between April 5-7, and another flood washed through the area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LfvnBURFIo
Now the waters are subsiding, we have a sense of the scale of this flood compared to others occurring in 2021 and 2022.
Date
Flood…
Elect Councillor Nathan Zamprogno to the LGNSW Board
ELECT Nathan Zamprogno to the LGNSW Board
✅ I was elected to Hawkesbury Council in 2016
✅ I am proud to be an Independent Councillor, and was re-elected on a substantually increased margin as an independent in December 2021.
✅ I have used my skills to build a storng profile of advocacy on the larger issues facing local government in…
Should development be allowed on our floodplain?
Two stories appearing recently in the media criticise Hawkesbury Council for approving DA’s on flood-prone land.
I have been flagging concerns over the statistical inevitability of another serious flood for a decade before my election to Council in 2016.
My support for raising Warragamba dam has always been paired with a demand for more stringent controls on floodplain development.…
Should we lower Warragamba Dam instead of raising it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQWxmR9g2V8
Last week Council met for the first time since the July floods. The Mayor advanced a motion that calls on the State Government to change legislation regulating the operation of Warragamba Dam to permit the Dam to be lowered in times of likely high-rainfall which will provide a degree of flood mitigation ability.
I supported the motion, but I want…
The Hawkesbury-Nepean flood of July 2022 – the worst since 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li34fvWU5zw
July 5th 2022 represented the worst day of flooding in the Hawkesbury in 44 years.
This flood exceeded 13.93m, beating both the March flood (13.71m) and the 2021 flood (12.91m). You would have to go back to 1978 (14.5m) to see a worse flood. The 1867 flood was 19.6m. A "one in a hundred" flood is 17.3m, each measured at the Windsor gauge.
I toured…
The Hawkesbury-Nepean River Floods – March 2022
July 2022 update. It's flooding again. Again.
I have been talking about flooding on the Hawkesbury-Nepean river for many many years. If you've arrived at this page as the result of a Google search, please consider these resources:
• My more recent video and post about the July 2022 floods, with some very striking video
• All my output on this website about flooding.
• My Facebook page, where…
Hawkesbury Council rejects critical flood safety measure – Again!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VToaYnz6DNM
Our community has known we have to 'Live with the River' since the time of settlement. Our relationship with the river and the inevitability of floods mean we're forever torn between the blessings of rich soils and the river's deadlier moods. My own ancestor was killed in Windsor in the flood of 1809.
But human ingenuity has given us the ability to…
Re-elect Councillor Nathan Zamprogno
Thank you for your support! The results of the Hawkesbury Council elections held December 4 2021 have been officially declared and I have been re-elected.
✅ I was elected free and clear on the primary vote without a reliance on preferences.
✅. I was the first candidate declared elected in the count, up from 11th in the 2016……
Make no mistake – raising Warragamba Dam will make our community safer
This morning, the opponents of flood safety in the Hawkesbury were falling upon a 'leaked' State Government report that stated something so obvious it's banal – that in the event of a major flood, the water has to go somewhere.
Their tortured argument says if Warragamba Dam is raised, providing a buffer against future floodwaters, then that water will need to be released progressively…
A Win For Colbee Park Users – A Masterplan… And $573K in Funding!
With members of the Oakville Raiders Baseball club and Hawkesbury Sports Council President Les Sheather
Overwhelmingly, the biggest problem Council has with developing masterplans for our parks is there is no money allocated to execute the plans once they're made. In this term I have lamented that community consultation and masterplanning processes raise community expectations, only…
The Hawkesbury Floods, March 2021
Some times it must feel like our community can't cop a trick. Devastating fires, pandemic and two floods, all within a 16 month period.
Yet again, out of the distress and destruction of property has arisen the real spirit of our local community, which has rallied magnificently. The response of our SES, Police and RFS have been truly heroic, and they deserve our respect, as do those who…
A big win for Oakville residents
After nearly five years of banging on about the shocking state of our local roads, I was very pleased at Councils meeting of 30/3 to be able to negotiate additional funding to FINALLY SEAL Old Stock Route Road and Brennans Dam Road at Vineyard.
Most of this is new money, and was absolutely not on the table before.
Some additional commentary:
• Unfortunately this does not yet…
Ecotourism, Hindu Temples, and WTF is a Housekeeping LEP?
On Tuesday night, Council resumed for 2020 and half way in, the meeting descended into chaos. A massive thunderstorm killed the power at a crucial juncture, forcing a second postponement, much to the frustration of a full gallery. The meeting had already been held over one week after flooding shut the Hawkesbury's three major bridges. It wasn't an auspicious start.
Before the storm,…
Hawkesbury Council should support the raising of Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam in 1960
Update: The result of the motion I put to Council is recounted here.
Only last year, we commemorated the 150th anniversary of the worst flood since European settlement in the Hawkesbury district. We were reminded that, back in June 1867, an inland sea of swirling detritus 30km wide stretched from Riverstone to the foot of the Blue Mountains -- the result of only four…
ANZAC Day: A Commemoration, not a Circus
Today, on ANZAC Day, I present an article I originally wrote back in 2008 about my own very personal pilgrimage to Gallipoli, and my quest to seek out a very particular grave at Lone Pine.
During my adventure, I was arrested by the Turkish Army, held at gunpoint and accused of being a spy. If you want a ripping yarn, ask me some time...
The author at Lone Pine, at the grave of Stan Stafford of…