WaterNSW said it understands the impact the landslide's closure of Tallowa Dam Road is having on the local community and re-opening the road as quickly as safety allows is a key priority.

Preliminary investigations indicated that full repairs to the road could take up to 12 months, however, WaterNSW is also investigating the feasibility of safely re-opening one lane to public access in less time.

WaterNSW continues to work with the Shoalhaven and Kangaroo Valley community, key agencies such as National Parks and Wildlife Service and impacted local businesses to provide updates on the situation.

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In the interim, general recreational access to the Tallowa Dam storage (Lake Yarrunga) is available from Bendeela Recreation Area.

Remote camps can be accessed by canoe and kayak from Bendeela.

WaterNSW teams are undertaking all mandatory monitoring and dam inspections three days per week by accessing the Tallowa Dam site via boat from the Bendeela campground.

WaterNSW executive manager operations, Ronan Magaharan said the road repair has been prioritised and enlisted the full-time services of a specialist engineering firm to assist with the challenging project.

"WaterNSW regards restoring access to Tallowa Dam Road as an urgent priority due to the operational requirements relating to Tallowa Dam, and the road's importance to the local community's economic recovery from flooding, bushfires, drought and the ongoing pandemic," Mr Magaharan said.

"All parties acknowledge the complexity of the project due to the extensive damage to the hillside supporting the road, and as a result WaterNSW has employed engineering experts to plan and undertake the work.

"After preliminary investigations, and in discussion with the local community, one of the early objectives will be to look at the possibility of opening one lane of the road, provided it can be accomplished safely.

"It would be premature to put any certainty or timing to this interim option, but if it could be achieved that would provide limited access well before the 12-month estimate on work to rebuild that section of the road back to full function."

For more information on WaterNSW visit www.waternsw.com.au.

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