For the first time in more than two decades, council is carrying out a city-wide flood study. More than 1000 surveys have been sent out to residents and businesses that border Tamworth’s flood zone, asking them to share their experiences with flooding.

The information will be combined with historical data from the 2000 and 2008 November floods, and new technology to better define the flooding patterns of the Peel River, Goonoo Goonoo Creek and Timbumburi Creek.

Tamworth has grown rapidly since the last study was done in 1993. New housing developments and subdivisions can change the way rainfall and floods behave, however council won’t know what those changes are until all the data has been collected.

TRC regional services director Peter Resch said flood modelling wasn’t an exact science.

“So it’s always good to validate it, and that’s what we do by talking to people who have experienced floods,” Mr Resch said.

“A lot of people can tell you where floods went. They can say ‘I was here in 1950 and the floods got to that point on that gum tree’ – we can look at our model and see if it matches up, or if we need to rework it.”

SES Namoi region controller Andrew Galvin said Tamworth already had a “really good” flood management system in place, particularly with the CBD and Taminda levies.

“Council has done a great job over the years,” Mr Galvin said

“Any long term local would remember what use to happen and how that’s been greatly reduced.

“It has to be extreme flooding to get over the levy these days.”

All residents can email their flood experiences to trc@tamworth.nsw.gov.au