A Wagga councillor is pushing for an overdue clean-up of the city's floodplains before the build up of rubbish and vegetation poses a serious threat during a flood event.
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Councillor Kerry Pascoe, who initiated the notice of motion at Monday night's meeting, said the council has a long history of dumping rubbish such as concrete, old pipes and road spoil in the floodplain.
He said it was time for the council to take responsibility of clearing the mess.
"The effect this would have on a flood is [considerable] in my opinion for what it is worth ... and it is time to start looking seriously at this and do something about it," he said.
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Cr Paul Funnell said the council has been "illegally dumping" and building "illegal levees" within the floodplain, which has cumulative effects on the Murrumbidgee River's water flow.
He said the council has mismanaged the growth of vegetation in the area, which increases the water levels in the event of a flood.
"We need to look after our own backyard because had we been managing that there would be no chokes," he said.
Moving forwards, Cr Funnell said projects happening in the city need to budget for the disposal of goods rather than rely on the floodplain as a dumping ground.
"We dump it in the floodplain thinking no one will see it over there, but some of us do and are fed up with bringing it up," he said.
Cr Rod Kendall said the council had numerous discussion about the issue.
North Wagga Residents Association treasurer Fiona Ziff, addressing councillors during the meeting, said the council has put the floodplain clean-up in the "too hard basket" for too long.
She said the floods that occurred in 2012 might have been avoided if the thick vegetation within the floodplain near Wilks Park was managed correctly.
"[Thick vegetation] has the capacity to impede the flow of flood water, displacing it and causing it to rise superficially, which can lead to the superficial over-topping of a levee, which is precisely what happened," she said.
"The vegetation in the floodplain was so dense that it caused a relatively small amount of water to be superficially raised ... if the vegetation had been managed, North Wagga would not have been flooded."
On behalf of North Wagga residents, Ms Ziff pleaded for the council to consider solutions as a matter of urgency.
Cr Pascoe's call for action was unanimously supported by councillors, who will receive a report outlining any issues with stockpiles and levees within the floodplain, as well as, an update about vegetation management.
The report will come back for consideration no later than March next year.
