A DRASTIC overhaul of the East Mirrool Regulator (EMR) could be in the pipeline after Yenda residents voiced disapproval over Murrumbidgee Irrigation's (MI) current solution, calling it a "waste of time".
Griffith City Council will write to MI asking it to immediately remove one metre of the dirt obstructing the EMR at the intersection of the Northern Branch Canal and Mirrool Creek.
MI agreed to the intervention following a teleconference with a number of representatives including State Water, the SES and council in December. But at last week's council meeting, Yenda Progress Association president Kay Pellizzer announced many Yenda residents were troubled by the solution and worried it would be inadequate.
Mayor John Dal Broi admitted the solution was temporary.
However, he said a plan to have Mirrool Creek flow over the top of the main canal was being investigated.
"The first step is to get rid of the soil in front of the EMR and that will give some relief," Councillor Dal Broi said.
"The second is to look at a more permanent situation whereby that sort of flooding won't happen again.
Cr Dal Broi said the EMR effectively acted as a levee which stopped the free flow of water down Mirrool Creek, because the water was forced into syphons to flow under the canal.
When a large body of water was forced into the intersection, like that seen in March last year, the syphons simply "choked".
"If we put the syphons under Mirrool Creek, it would allow the creek to flow freely down its natural course," Cr Dal Broi said.
However, cost was a significant issue and Cr Dal Broi said he would continue to lobby the state government and all concerned parties to ensure the scale of last year's flooding would not be seen again.
