Murrumbidgee SES controller James McTavish.
THE truth behind the Yenda floods is set to be revealed, with an investigation into whether the disaster could have been avoided beginning this week.
Yenda Flood Victims Association (YFVA) has commissioned a hydrologist to determine whether Murrumbidgee Irrigation's (MI) failure to unblock a decommissioned regulator caused the flooding of the village.
The group will initiate a class action lawsuit if the study determines the East Mirrool Regulator (EMR) was at fault.
YFVA was formed in May to seek compensation for the floods, which devastated hundreds of Yenda homes and families.
"The group can't do any more until we find out if there was any wrongdoing by any authority," association president Paul Rossetto said.
"It's a question of determining whether, if the EMR was open, Yenda would have flooded and how bad that flooding would have been.
"We have limited funds to investigate this so we've gone with a simple question that only needs one simple answer."
There are several different flood inquiries in progress in the region, with an SES "intelligence study" well under way and council securing funding for three flood studies last week.
The SES has commissioned a hydrologist from Water Management Australia to conduct its review, which is examining the movement of floodwater in the Mirrool Creek catchment and the Murrumbidgee River.
Consultant Steve Grey has been travelling through flood-hit areas, talking to locals and gathering practical information about the disaster.
"Our initial reports from Steve are telling us that the floods in March were very, very unusual," SES Murrumbidgee controller James McTavish said.
"Indications are that there were extremely unusual rainfall events to the east of Griffith that were in excess of a one-in-500-year event.
"What we're looking at is more the mechanics of the flooding; we're not in the game to attribute fault to any infrastructure, we just want to find out what the story is."
The SES study is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
It will be used to inform future flood studies including council's inquiry into the Mirrool Creek catchment.
