Wagga Beach was completely under water, proving an impressive sight given Wagga residents are more familiar with a drought-stricken version of the Murrumbidgee.

But while the river was the talk of the town yesterday afternoon, the water level was expected to continue rising last night, reaching a peak of about 7 metres at midnight.

Wagga's situation after the wet weekend fell short of the dramatic scenes in other parts of the region, with Tumut, Gundagai and Tumbarumba shires declared natural disaster areas after the torrential rain.

Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan said the declaration would enable councils, residents, primary producers and business owners to access financial help to repair damage to infrastructure.

The situation was not so dire in Wagga, but weather observer Tom Delfatti from the Wagga Bureau of Meteorology said yesterday afternoon the Murrumbidgee River's water level was just above 6 metres.

It was expected to peak last night just below the city's minor flood level, about 7 metres.

"A minor flood causes inconvenience and low-lying areas will become underwater, but it's not enough to cause evacuation and most roads will stay open," he said.

Mr Delfatti said Wagga was yet to feel the full effect of the weekend's rains, which were due to flow down from the mountains in the next couple of days.

Up to 5mm of rain is expected on Thursday, but Mr Delfatti reassured residents the coming rain was unlikely to cause major problems. The wet start to spring continues Wagga's wet 2010, with the annual average total rainfall already surpassed.

"This year's been very wet - March was very wet, May and August were above average."

"We haven't had this much rain since the year 2000, but if you go back through history it's not unusual."

He said the city was likely to receive more than 700mm of rain for the year, a total which has not been reached since 1995.

A flood bulletin released yesterday from the State Emergency Service said the service would continue to monitor the situation, and volunteer SES units can be contacted on 132 500 for emergency help during flooding.