THE state's new water minister better brace themselves for a flood of concerns from Tamworth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The incumbent minister, Niall Blair, vacated the portfolio immediately after being re-elected, but regional communities are only becoming more occupied with the drought which has smashed the environment and sparked a downturn in local economies.
At its meeting on Tuesday evening, Tamworth Regional Council called for an urgent face-to-face with the, as yet unknown, water minister as the situation worsens.
READ MORE:
The city is staring down the barrel of austere level four water restrictions with Chaffey Dam plunging below 28 per cent capacity.
Councillor Russell Webb said all options needed to be on table when it came to preserving the remaining water.
"We don't want the city to be left in short supply," Cr Webb said.
He said a regional city the size of Tamworth should be guaranteed water.
"We need to talk strongly about what they can do to maintain what water is left in that dam," he said.
Cr Webb suggested the alteration of water sharing plans should be considered and there needed to be a discussion about long term weather predictions, which he said weren't good.
"A guarantee of supply might mean some strong actions from minister," he said.
The council passed a motion which sought a meeting with the minister "to discuss issues of concern in relation to water supplies to council centres".
The recommendation came from a report on the council's current water restrictions.
The councillor's vote also approved the temporary trade of 85 megalitres from the "Upper Namoi Regulated River Source" which supplies Barraba to be diverted to Manilla which is under tighter restrictions.
At Tuesday's meeting, councillors also voted to take a motion to the next national conference of councils to call on the federal government for more drought assistance.
Deputy mayor Phil Betts issued strong support for more drought relief and iterated his call for a "roads to recovery" type funding arrangement to help stimulate regional economies smashed by drought.
He said businesses are already laying people off on account of the current climate.
Cr Betts said the drought in Tamworth had moved into "uncharted territory".
Water supply was also at the crux of the council approving a $150,000 spend on auditing local businesses which have been heavy users and suggesting more efficient practices.
Cr Betts said the audits weren't punitive in nature and would merely highlight more efficient water use for businesses.
"We all know we will be living with the drought for some time to come and Council is getting on the front foot with some additional actions to ensure we can continue to provide our community with the water they need," he said.
"We all felt it was best that we do this sooner rather than later - we want to be proactive. "We will do everything we can to boost our region's water security as this terrible drought continues."