Warragamba spilling, most rivers rising, North Richmond bridge could be closed by this afternoon

Warragamba Dam reached capacity and started spilling through its crest gates around 3am this morning and that spill may continue for up to two weeks, says WaterNSW this morning.

The heavy rain continues and according to the Bureau of Meteorology the Hawkesbury river is predicted to reach a height of 7.9m at North Richmond by this afternoon.

If that happens that would be just half a metre below the deck height and that could mean the RMS might close the bridge due to safety concerns. We’ll keep an eye on that, of course, and it is possible today we will not see the closure of the Northo bridge, it depends on the RMS as much as anything – we’ll be talking to them soon.

At Windsor the river height is predicted to reach 7m by this evening, which should allow the bridge there to remain open, but only if roads either side are not flooded.

The Grose River has continued to fall and Yarramundi is steady at 4.32m at 8am this morning, that’s currently 1.1m below the bridge height but it’s very likely given the predicted increases in river level that low-lying Yarramundi Bridge will close during the day – we’ll keep an eye on that.

BOM said a bit earlier this morning that minor flooding is already occurring along the Hawkesbury at North Richmond.

And BOM predicts The Hawkesbury River at Windsor is likely to reach the minor flood level (5.80 m) by Wednesday afternoon, with further rises to the moderate flood level (7.0 metres) possible by Wednesday night.

On the Colo River, minor flooding is occurring along the river at Putty Road, says BOM.

The Colo River at Putty Road may reach around 3.50 metres by Wednesday evening with minor flooding, they say.

More updates as we get them. Take care out there…

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