THE drought has hit one community in the region harder than expected as the council scrambles for a long term option.
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Tamworth Regional Council revealed it has begun investigating a pipeline from Split Rock Dam to Manilla.
The council was forced to spend $850,000 on a short term solution for the small town which will involve installing a separate pipeline from the Manilla River to a weir on the Namoi.
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Split Rock Dam, on the Manilla River, is at risk of hitting "dead storage" in April.
It is a scenario which Tamworth Regional Council couldn't foresee and water director Bruce Logan laid blame on the state government's water sharing plan.
"There's no doubt we are in this present position because of the water sharing plan," he said.
"We thought [Manilla's] water security was one of the better ones, after Barraba, they would be the next best in terms of water security."
While the water sharing plan was considered the culprit, Mr Logan said it didn't reflect a criticism.
"We applied the rules and this is where we find ourselves," he said.
"We need to have a look at the water sharing plan so over the next 10 years we don't find ourselves in the same position."
Mayor Col Murray said this drought had forced the council to consider alternative water supplies and the way it is delivered.
"We were of the opinion Manilla and Barraba were pretty safe and secure," he said.
While Manilla's situation has become a priority for the council, funding for a Split Rock pipeline has been flagged as an issue.
The council has secured more than half-a-billion dollars from the state and federal government to solve immediate and longer term issues in Tamworth.
"It would be a major funding thing," Cr Murray said.
"Barraba pipeline cost about $15m and I imagine the Manilla option wouldn't be too much different."
The mayor didn't rule out the possibility of trucking water to Manilla from Tamworth if the situation worsens.
"That's a lot of water to truck, but there will need to be water come from somewhere," he said.