Wagga City Council will spearhead a push to see the construction of a new, larger dam to replace Burrinjuck almost 200 kilometres upstream from the city.
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It was a notice of motion initiated by Councillor Paul Funnell, who gained unanimous support at Monday night's meeting for the council to start communicating with all levels of government about future upgrades of the century-old dam.
Cr Funnell said that because Wagga is technically one of the biggest constraints, as well as the regional capital of the area, it has a responsibility to start the conversation.
"It is way beyond the abilities of Wagga City Council, but if we are going to be this region's capital and the leader, then let's try and pull these people together," he said.
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"I don't want to leave a legacy of where we could see the nightmare, but no one was prepared to ask the questions. It is about starting the process."
Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said the council has not suggested the integrity of Burrinjuck Dam is compromised, however it is more than 100 years old and discussions must start now for what will be a long-term project.
Although the dam is located outside the local government boundary, Cr Conkey said it holds a critical role in the community and will continue to be a vital piece of infrastructure.
"It has served this city and area extremely well over that time, but we need to plan for the future," he said.
"We will be writing to state and federal government ministers concerning the long-term future ... and put it on the agenda now rather than leaving it for another 20 years."
Councillor Rod Kendall agreed that there is "no immediate danger" of the dam reaching capacity, but that should not stop them from starting these complex discussions as early as possible.
He said it was just as important to upgrade down-stream infrastructure, as well as replacing the dam itself.
"What we do know is that it takes a long time to plan complex infrastructure and there is nothing more complex than replacing something already there, particularly something the size of Burrinjuck Dam," he said.