Aren’t we lucky to have them: General Manager

For the past five weeks City of Wagga Wagga staff have been committed to mitigating flood risks to protect people, properties and city assets.

Disaster can strike at any time – which is why Council has been providing an around-the-clock emergency response and preparedness effort to the current flood event at Wagga Wagga.

"During storms, freezing temperatures and while most residents are sleeping or at home and out of harm's way, Council crews have been out closing roads or clearing them of debris, monitoring pumps to ensure urban flooding is mitigated and surveying the levee for any potential risks," City of Wagga Wagga General Manager Alan Eldridge said.

"The City of Wagga Wagga plays a central role in protecting people across the Local Government Area (LGA) during weather events, such as the current flood activity.

"We are lucky to be able to draw on staff from across the organisation that have a wealth of knowledge, expertise and can provide assistance to help keep the community safe.

"All it takes is one phone call and crews are either out in the field assisting or on standby, ready to act when needed. Staff have also changed holiday plans and worked through weekends and long night shifts, which shows their dedication to safeguarding the community."

In addition to the ground crew response, Council's Customer Service team have responded to about 1480 calls from residents in September requesting flood information and updates.

When flooding occurs it impacts the entire Wagga Wagga LGA, from Humula to Galore. Staff are deployed across the LGA to carry out a range of response tasks, everything from monitoring roads for road closures and road maintenance, levee and flood gate inspections, pump set-up and monitoring, creating clay stockpiles and filling sandbags in preparation of emergency levee construction.

Council also continues to work with the State Emergency Services, who are the lead agency for the flood response.

Updates on the current minor flood event at Wagga Wagga are available at www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/ and www.ses.nsw.gov.au. A full list of road closures are at www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/roads