AFTER months of community criticism, Griffith City Council has come forward with a peace offering for local flood victims.
Yenda and Yoogali residents in a specified "flood zone" will be given 200kl of water free on their next bill.
In addition, council has agreed to immediately investigate a Yenda Rotary Club proposal to prevent future flooding in the village by improving drainage at the lowest point of Yenda.
Council came under fire in July after sending water and sewerage bills to Yenda and Yoogali residents who had been unable to live in their homes since the March floods.
Councillor Christine Stead spearheaded a campaign to find a way to support victims after initial investigations found council had few options for waiving its fees.
Her efforts were rewarded last week when council agreed to offer the ex-gratia water allocation as well as establishing a list of projects to alleviate stormwater drainage issues in the villages.
"I really feel for the people who have been affected by these floods Yenda's a ghost town," Cr Stead said. "I think with this policy and the continued work of council staff we can move ahead and get something done for them."
Past Yenda Rotary president Mike Rohan gave a presentation to councillors at last week's meeting to describe his club's idea to prevent water build-up in the village.
He explained the need to clean out a siphon at the eastern end of Dredge Street and place a pump on it to keep water flowing out of the town, as well as clearing out the drainage channel on the northern side of Railway Terrace.
The club has offered to supply a pump for the project, but has requested a second device be purchased as a back-up.
"Everybody is very pleased that council has taken this project on board we didn't want to see it dithering with nothing being done," Mr Rohan said.
"We have offered to maintain the pumps and help out wherever we possibly can there are a number of guys in the club who are more than capable of doing it.
"We know this won't be a be-all and end-all solution, but in the short term it's a pretty easy solution to Yenda's drainage problems."
The water fee relief will knock about $110 off each property's water bill.
It will apply to 423 properties in Yenda and 281 in Yoogali.
The average local household consumes 380kl of water per year.