![A family in Gunnedah walk through flood water to access their boat in the town's low lying areas. Picture by Gareth Gardner A family in Gunnedah walk through flood water to access their boat in the town's low lying areas. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/b49dd71e-14d8-487a-a7cb-6c173f4e92f5.jpg/r0_379_4373_2838_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A LEVEE, mud army, and a flood mitigation study are just some of the hopes on Gunnedah residents' wish lists after they were hit by more flood water.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
After Gunnedah endured its sixth flood since last November, exhausted and heartbroken community members are calling for real change.
Lauren Mackley, who had 10 centimetres of water flood through her Rosemary Street home, said something needed to be done "right" and "properly".
"We all need to sit down and have conversations about what is viable and what are the implications for the region," she said.
"If we don't, there's probably going to be a huge amount of inhabitants in Gunnedah in the future that are just going to leave.
READ ALSO:
"It's a sad state of affairs."
Ms Mackley said a community mud army, regional road mapping on LiveTraffic and knowledge sharing would be a step forward.
"People who are flood affected go and help other people, we're not just looking after our households, we're looking after our community," she said.
"We just need a better way to orchestrate that."
Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce president and Hennessy Real Estate director Ben Hennessy said "big ticket" items like building a levee were worth looking at.
"I know that's a bit contentious because it pushed the water further into the next town," he said.
![The Gunnedah Shire has been hit with six floods since November last year. Picture by Gareth Gardner The Gunnedah Shire has been hit with six floods since November last year. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/19a944db-f339-4c38-b727-63c453bb0957.jpg/r0_319_4792_3013_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"But it would safeguard the residents here."
Mr Hennessy said he would like to see a house raising scheme re-introduced by the government in the aftermath of the latest floods.
Gunnedah mayor Jamie Chaffey has been lobbying for funding to conduct a comprehensive flood mitigation study across the shire.
The study would engage a third party to investigate the town's creeks, rivers and dams and map out the best way forward for mitigation.
Cr Chaffey said he had contacted Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson seeking state government support, but was yet to receive any confirmation.
"We eagerly await something," he said.
"A report would give us a list of recommendations and things that could make a significant difference to the community."
Mr Anderson said he was waiting to hear back from the state government about what a flood mitigation plan would look like.
"This is now the time to look at how do we get better at managing that [water] and what do we do about flood mitigation going forward," he said.
"We need to get better and more efficient and manage our water better."
Mr Anderson said he planned to visit Gunnedah on Thursday to speak with residents, council and the State Emergency Service.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News