MANY eyes in NSW are fixed on the state's dwindling water supplies.
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But if councillors back a motion at Tuesday night's meeting in Tamworth, there will be a permanent gaze affixed on Dungowan Dam.
The council has allocated $35,000 to install CCTV cameras at Dungowan Dam to increase "further monitoring capability" along with a $187,000 proposal to install a communications tower near the site.
The proposal includes a "microwave communication link" to the dam to improve the current system which keeps track of "dam inflows, storage level and rainfall".
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"The primary purpose of the link is to allow large bandwidth equipment such as CCTV cameras to be used to assist with dam monitoring," water and waste manager Dan Coe said in his report to councillors.
"In addition, the link will provide remote access to other key infrastructure including the seismograph installed onsite for monitoring any earthquake event and future solar arrays to be installed.
"The link will assist with implementing council's Dungowan Dam safety emergency plan.
"From this location the link will connect back to Tamworth and Council's existing IT communication network to allow remote monitoring."
Interestingly, the tower could be a lifesaver in a number of ways.
While the council wants to increase its dam monitoring abilities by keeping watch for any earthquake activity or any safety issues, the tower is proposed to be built on land owned by NSW Police at Niangala.
In negotiations over the site, the cops expressed interest in installing their communications equipment on the tower.
"NSW Police use the site for emergency communications throughout the area and utilising the new tower would allow equipment to be installed at a greater height, thus improving their communication coverage," the report said.
In a closed meeting on Tuesday night, the councillors will also award the tender to fix the roof of the One Tree Hill reservoir.
The tank in South Tamworth sprung a leak earlier in the year and was losing 8640 litres a day of treated water.
The roof of the tank was damaged in a storm in December last year and a contractor is expected to start repairs by late August.