Terry and Lynette Brock, of Lorn, are at loggerheads with the RTA over some preliminary works and long-term responsibilities.

The cattle and goat-farming couple had their 70ha-property between Glenarvon Road and the Hunter River split when the RTA resumed about 8ha of it in October.

But they are still in dispute with the RTA about the type of fencing to separate their land and the road easement.

The Brocks say they need a netting fence that will not let the goats through but they cannot get agreement with the RTA on the type of fence.

Additionally, they say heavy vehicles that have used the levee to get to test drilling and preliminary works sites have, because of recent rain, ploughed up the levee bank.

This, Terry Brock says, could lead to severe scouring of the levee, and a possible break, if there was rain comparable with the wet weather in January.

Grass regrowth in winter was slow, leaving the levee vulnerable if the river rose.

He understands a directive was issued that a gravel bed should be laid on the levee to prevent further wheel damage, but none has been laid so far.

The Brocks are also locked in a Land and Environment Court battle with the RTA over longer-term responsibility for fencing in the flood zone.

They want some assurance the RTA will meet reasonable costs in the future if fences are washed away in a flood.

“There’s a 1.1km length of fence; that’s about $50,000 or $60,00 to replace,” Mr Brock said.

The Brocks said the riverbank beside their property had lost several metres in the January downpours, which raise water levels to less than a metre from the top of the levee.

A flow such as that would have scoured and possibly broken the levee where traffic has been travelling over it, he said.