The Tallowa Dam access road at Lake Yarrunga is likely to remain closed for up to 12 months due to a landslip.
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Significant rainfall and recent flood events in the area have resulted in the landslip, which prevents vehicles from driving to the dam
WaterNSW, which manages the area, says it recognises Lake Yarrunga is an important recreational area for the Kangaroo Valley and Shoalhaven community and a popular area for campers, recreational water users and school camps.
With Tallowa Dam access closed due to the landslip, Bendeela campground is now the only road access point to Lake Yarrunga.
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Bendeela campground was closed due to flood damage however reopened on March 28.
Lake Yarrunga remote camps have also re-opened, however, these riverside campsites can only be accessed by kayak or canoe and, with the closure of Tallowa, users will need to start and finish their trips at Bendeela.
Bookings are needed for camping at Bendeela and the remote camps.
WaterNSW said re-opening Tallowa Dam Road is a key priority and it will also increase servicing of Bendeela and remote sites on Lake Yarrunga to ensure that the anticipated demand is effectively managed.
WaterNSW will continue to work with the Shoalhaven and Kangaroo Valley community, key agencies and impacted businesses to provide timely updates on the situation.
Tallowa Dam was constructed in the mid-1970s, and is the centrepiece of the Shoalhaven Scheme, collecting water from a 5750 square kilometre catchment which extends from Kangaroo Valley in the north-east to the upper Shoalhaven River south-west of Braidwood.
Total storage capacity of Tallowa Dam is the amount of water available to transfer to Sydney and the Illawarra.
When Sydney's dam levels drop to 75 per cent, water from the Shoalhaven Scheme can be fed into the Upper Nepean dams and Warragamba Dam to top up Sydney and Illawarra water supplies. Water is also released from Tallowa Dam into the Shoalhaven River as environmental flows and to provide water to Nowra.
