On Thursday, Councillor Rossetto said the water in the Main Canal coming from the Dalton Runner had already dropped 25 centimetres.

He said Mirrool Creek water covering Halse Road entering under the canal siphon had stablised.

Cr Rossetto said Murrumbidgee Irrigation had helped prevent flooding by removing the three boards across eight gates that has allowed 600ML per day to escape the Main Canal to the south into Mirrool Creek without competing with Mirrool Creek water trying to enter under the canal siphon.

“This is a total escape volume of 2100ML per day – previously in 2012 it was only 1500ML per day, so having three boards removed is a significant improvement of 40 per cent,” Cr Rossetto said.

He said there was an 85 to 90 per cent chance of 20-40mm of rain into the east Mirrool Catchement and 15-25mm in the West Mirrool Creek catchment largely over a six hour period.

“I am afraid the system was at full capacity during this week’s event and another similar rain event so soon after this week’s event will only exacerbate the pressure on all parts of the Mirrool Creek flood mitigation system,” Cr Rossetto said.

He said something needed to be done to prevent future flooding.

Cr Rossetto said the two best short-term options were:

- Cut away the concrete ledge on two of the gates, allowing full use of the boards. This will double the present capacity of the three boards.

- Get two excavators up on the EMR site while it is not raining and skim away the Main Canal banks on both sides of the canal down to the water level, creating a low sacrificial bank that floodwater can spill over and head south into Mirrool Creek.

“As a united council representing a united community, I really would like to see a combined focus on lobbying the government for funding a Lawson Siphon,” Cr Rossetto said.

“It’s been four years and six months since the devastating March 2012 floods and nothing tangible has been installed – not even a rain gauge or creek flow gauges.

“Whichever way one looks at it, the present 1:20 flood mitigation capacity of the EMR is woefully inadequate and therefore it is so unprofessional for the government to expect a community to live on eggshells every time there is a significant rain event for fear of another flood event.”

He urged Member for Murray Adrian Piccoli and Member for Farrer Sussan Ley to put the state and federal governments on notice that the Griffith Flood Plain Management Committee will be requesting several million dollars for flood mitigation works very soon.