IT WAS only a little more than two years ago the city triumphantly sailed into uncharted waters as Chaffey Dam surpassed all historic high water marks.
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Now, water restrictions are upon us once again.
An announcement is expected from council today with the city’s 100,500 megalitre dam draining at a rapid rate.
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According to WaterNSW, Chaffey is now at 39.6 per cent; a level unseen since July 2016.
In a post on Facebook, Tamworth Regional Council said it anticipated level one restrictions would be imposed on January 14.
Despite Chaffey already falling below council’s own trigger point for the enforcement of level one restrictions in Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal, the drought management action plan has “community awareness” requirements which must also be met before any limitations on use or potential fines could be dished out.
More than 51mm of rain fell in Tamworth last month, but in-flows to Chaffey, and most of the region’s dams, have been poor and with 11 consecutive days of temperatures north of 35 degrees there has been a rapid fall below 40 per cent.
Temperatures are tipped to stay above 35 degrees until, at least, next Saturday, according to Weatherzone.
The imminent water restrictions come after 2018 was declared the hottest on record for Tamworth.
It was also the fourth-driest 12 months for Tamworth in 140 years.
Meanwhile, the council is continuing improve its water sustainability as dry conditions take hold.
The sport and recreation department has steered away from the use of drinking water on local parks and playing fields, opting for underground supplies to keep them in good condition.
Bicentennial Park is now completely maintained with bore water and sport and recreation manager Paul Kelly said council would keep looking for ways to curtail its water use. “It’s a major investment but, long term, it is best for the community,” Mr Kelly said.
“What 120 households would use in a year, we would put on the oval to keep it green.
“We’ve worked pretty hard to convert a lot of our sports fields onto bore water, that minimises the interactions with water restrictions, providing we have got access and sufficient licences for the bores we can continue to water.”
While there are still a number of parks which use potable water, Mr Kelly said it would be harder to warrant the construction of bore in smaller green spaces.
“There is various levels of parks in the region where some we water and some we don’t,” he said.
“The major ones, we are working on.”
While water restrictions should prolong the availability of water for Tamworth, spare a thought for the people of Walgett in the state’s north west.
The Namoi River is bone-dry in the town and a lightning strike rendered water pressure in homes to little more than a dribble.
It’s hoped normal water pressure will be returned in the town by Monday.