The ongoing levee bank issue has been a highly contented issue in Narromine in the past years with councillors undecided whether it is the best and most necessary outcome for the town.

Most recently, former councillor and head of the Flood Plain Management Committee George Mack found discrepancies on the Lyall and Associates report used to decide the necessity and height of the proposed levee bank.

Mayor of Narromine, Craig Davies, said the levee studies have conflicting statements prompting the peer review.

“George Mack, through hard work and diligence has identified 31 anomalies,” he said.

“These are basically inconsistencies between reports and other known facts surrounding the evidence relating to the river and flood heights that the authorities are currently relying on to make a determination as to what we, as a community, will have to do to comply with the impending state government directive.

“Clearly when the facts are wrong, they make false assumptions in the manner in which this decision should proceed.”

Cr Davies said the council have determined unless the correct information is given then they would have been rushing into a decision without having all the necessary facts.

“A peer review is an expert in the same field as those who have been tasked with providing the original report but with the hindsight of better and more relevant and recent information [and] can make a determination that would provide a far more acceptable, practical and affordable outcome for residents of the shire should the accept the evidence presented to them.”

At their February meeting, the council moved to congratulate the Flood Plain Management Committee on their hard work getting the documents ready for peer review. 

“And for getting our levee problem moving,” Cr Les Lambert said.