A radical proposal to build a man-made lake at North Wagga has been touted as a way to solve the suburb’s flood problems once and for all.
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Oura man Leigh Campbell and his small community group have breathed new life into the old North Wagga Lake concept, calling a public meeting to discuss how to make it a reality.
“This would fix an immense amount of problems, you spend some money and you get one-off fix for them all,” Mr Campbell said. “There’s heaps of people talking about it now and I’ve been bringing people to see where it would go, you can’t understand the sheer size of it unless you see it for yourself.”
The proposed lake would expand upon an existing waterhole near the Olympic Highway between North Wagga and Boorooma. The dirt removed from the area around Burilda Street could be used to build new levee banks, which Mr Campbell said would protect North Wagga from flooding and divert water downstream. Critically, he believed that diversion could occur without endangering Oura or Gumly.
When viewed from Burilda Street, the waterhole was far bigger than expected and was at least as large as Temora’s Lake Centenary. By creating the lake, Mr Campbell said, Wagga would get a new tourist attraction as well as the critical levee banks.
The proposal had the support of North Wagga Residents’ Association president Dan Grentell, who called it a win-win for the city.
“I’m all for it, it would obviously have more protection for North Wagga and would be a great asset for the area,” Mr Grentell said. “If we can get it funded, we’re right behind it. And it would be better than the lake we have now – they can’t get water to it – but with this they could pump it in from the river or along Duke’s Creek.”
During heavy rain events, such as in September 2016, the entire area flooded and held water for weeks. Mr Campbell said it proved the low-lying area was right for a larger body of water.
“Why not turn that wasteland into something that’s absolutely fantastic?” Mr Campbell said. “The potential is unbelievable, you can fill it from the river and the dirt can be used to bump up the levee banks.”
A public meeting to discuss the proposal was set for 7pm on May 30 at Wagga RSL Club and both Mr Campbell and Mr Grentell hoped people would show their support for the idea.
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Stephen Mudd
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
