MAYOR Col Murray says council had the whole community in mind when it changed the water sharing plan in a move which has irrigators fearing for the industry’s demise.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tamworth Regional Council voted unanimously to take 100 per cent of council’s water allocation from Chaffey Dam, rather than the 70 per cent it currently takes, which will slug supply to bulk water users.
Irrigators protested the move at Tuesday’s meeting claiming it could spell the end of the industry in the Peel Valley.
Cr Murray didn’t believe it would kill the irrigation industry as some feared.
READ MORE:
He said the irrigators’ share had been “improved dramatically by the upgrade of Chaffey Dam”.
“This strips back a small part of that, they’re still much better off compared to before the update,” he said.
The mayor said the decision was made in light of the whole city’s needs.
“My message to them is we've got whole of community to consider,” he said.
“The strongest message we get from anybody and everybody is to improve water security for city.
“That’s one of the main challenges and constraints for growth.”
Cr Murray said the move had to be understood in the context of a change to the water charging regime.
“We need to understand this all started when the new charging regime was introduced and approved by IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal) from 40:60 availability and usage charges to a 80:20 ratio,” he said.
“Irrespective if we use the water or not, that’s a much higher fee for it.”
While council would pay more for its allocated supply from Chaffey Dam, to the tune of $680,000 per year to Water NSW, whether it uses any of the water or not, Cr Murray backed the move.
“It will improve the reliability of supply for the water users in the city, both residential and commercial,” he said.
If the change is adopted and approved it would lead to a 10 per cent improvement in reliability in the water supply, however concerns have been raised by the Commonwealth government and farmers about the adjustment.
Council will advise the NSW Department of Industry it is seeking changes to the next Peel Water Sharing Plan to increase the Available Water Determination for Local Water Utilities.
What do you think of council’s decision? Write a letter to the editor. Click here to send us a letter to the editor with this simple form.