Council started work on opening the Shoalhaven River on Tuesday as an extreme weather system dumped torrential rain across the state and flood warnings were issued for the South Coast.

Pre-emptive works at the Shoalhaven Heads river entrance were completed on Wednesday, with council staff cutting a pilot channel into the sandbar.

Intensified waves and tidal inundations from the east coast low has caused sand to be deposited in the channel.

After inspection, council deemed it unsafe to operate machinery to attempt to move further sand on the beachside of the channel.

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Safety hazards associated with these works could not be appropriately mitigated, due to the presence of extreme wave conditions and limited access if a duress situation eventuated.

It is understood that floodwaters entered the pilot channel excavated Wednesday, but were unable to flow fully through to the sea as the berm on the ocean side has been influenced by wave action and wave runup overnight.

As at 9:30am, the water level at the entrance is currently 2.03 metres AHD, which is above the trigger level - 2.0 metres AHD.

The water level at Nowra is 3.07 metres, which is also above the trigger level - 3.0 metres AHD.

Council staff will continue to monitor real-time data from the flood level gauges on a frequent basis throughout the day to make immediate and informed decisions if the system does not open naturally.

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