He says Bathurst Regional Council plans to put the levee at the most narrow part of the Vale Creek floodplain – and that is a problem.

While unlikely to be affected by the proposed levee, Mr Hamer said he feels for the people on the western side which he believes will cop the worst of the flooding once the levees are in place. 

He said if the levees go in it will be unfair to these residents because the creek is so narrow and all the water will be pushed to their side.

Mr Hamer said there just won’t be enough room for the floodwater to spread out. 

Council has set aside $2 million to flood-proof the village using a 1.4-kilometre earth embankment and reinforced concrete levee.

The structure, which will be mostly earth, will run from Perthville Nursery to Bridge Street, then along Perth and North streets.

Mr Hamer said the levees are meant to be the third piece of flood mitigation work, yet the two more urgent projects have not been done.

He said the first was to increase the capacity of the creek, while the second was doubling the capacity of the bridge. Only then should the levee be built.

“This has been dragging on for close to 50 years to make Perthville safe as far as floods are concerned,” Mr Hamer said. “It goes right back to the days when John Matthews was mayor.

“So far there have been only token efforts to clear the creek.”

Mr Hamer said the Queen Charlotte’s Vale Landcare Group has done a lot of work above and below Perthville and the council has carried out willow removal below Perthville. 

“The Phragmites reed is growing rampant and the creek is now at half the capacity below Perthville that it was 30 years ago, and a quarter of what it was before that,” Mr Hamer said. 

“Council has a program but it is taking them a long time getting around to doing it.”

The Perthville resident said council should increase the capacity of the creek before doing anything else.

Matt Seaman, who owns the Bridge Hotel and the Perthville Store, also has concerns, but he has been assured by the city engineers the levee won’t affect his properties. 

Council’s Darren Sturgiss said the height of the levee will vary, but at its highest point it will be 2.2m above the ground.

He said one of the most complex parts of the levee is near the bridge, which can’t be touched because of its historical significance.

Instead, a 10m wide box culvert just before it will give it extra protection, as this is the spot where most of the water velocity goes through the creek.