Dam spills, siren sounds but no one's knocking - Newcastle Herald

AT 5.58am on Tuesday, April 21, Hunter Water issued a timely warning that upstream of Dungog, Chichester Dam had been placed on "white alert".

With the region being saturated, phone records show the water authority called the NSW SES to ensure the flood "combat agency" received the latest advice about the dam's operations.

Twelve minutes later, the information was relayed by Hunter Water to the NSW Dams Safety Committee.

The dam was spilling, and the "white alert" - the first in an escalating series of three warnings - is intended to be relayed to nearby residents at risk if the dam fails.

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