The NSW Government has a Hawkesbury and Nepean River Basin flood warning improvement project underway which aims to support the implementation of improvements to existing flood warning services on a priority basis.

• The Hawkesbury-Nepean basin was identified as a high priority, high risk catchment by the Independent Flood Inquiry (NSW Parliament, 2022) and the local government areas in this catchment due to the impact of the February/March 2022 floods.
• This project was part of the fourth work package to be rolled out as part of the broader NSW flood warning improvement project. It should be noted that the project focusses on improving riverine flood warning arrangements covered by the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology’s (the Bureau) Service Level Specifications (SLS), not flash flood warning arrangements. 
• The project scope includes consideration on a priority basis of upgrades to existing gauges, new gauges, and new flood warning service locations where these support the riverine flood warning network. It will also support community awareness of any changes to the flood warning service.
  Hawkesbury and Nepean River Basin flood warning improvement project has provided initial draft recommendations for improvements to the flood warning network.

NSW Government is seeking feedback on the draft recommendations within the report.

Have your say https://www.mhl.nsw.gov.au/floodstudies/DCCEEWBCD-HawkesburyHome 
Submissions close Sunday 20 April 2025.

For the Central Coast Local Government Area, a possible forecast location for lower Hawkesbury is one of the recommendations. This flood forecast location would significantly improve the Lower Hawkesbury community’s preparedness for flood events. This ensures that residents from Lower Hawkesbury receive valuable flood warning information and communications.

The project is led by the NSW Department of Climate Change Energy the Environment and Water in consultation with the Bureau of Meteorology, NSW State Emergency Service, and in consultation with councils within the study area.

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Central Coast Council has a robust and wide network of flood warning and monitoring system. Council has proactively installed a number of flood monitoring infrastructure (gauges) and also implemented flood warning systems at various locations along with the development of a flood intelligence tool. This tool measures rainfall and water levels in the coastal lagoons of Wamberal Lagoon, Terrigal Lagoon, Avoca Lagoon, Cockrone Lake, and Narara.  Learn more