A NEW pipeline for Manilla should be operational by December and give the town water security for two more years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tamworth Regional Council is working at warp speed to get the pipeline done and, at the halfway mark, its crews had laid about 150 metres per day since work begun.
The pipeline will pump water from the Manilla River, near the town's current bridge across to the weir and pumping station on the Namoi River, 2.4 kilometres away.
READ MORE:
The work was initially intended to be completed as part of a new treatment plant for the town, but it has been brought forward by about four months.
The council is currently working with Water NSW to preserve remaining supplies in Split Rock Dam - which is on the Manilla River - for town water supplies in Manilla and Barraba.
The council's manager of water and waste operations, Dan Coe, said the pipeline should help stretch the remaining Split Rock supply for the two towns.
"I believe [Water NSW] have done communications with their customers and advised that general security allocation will cease on December 1," Mr Coe said.
"There are still formal approvals to be done by the state government.
"At that stage, water in Split Rock will be held for town water supplies."
While this work should help in the immediate and short-term future, the council will re-evaluate its drought management plan once the current dry spell ends.
It could see water restriction triggers changed and new water infrastructure projects examined.
Councillor and Manilla resident Jim Maxwell said he would like to see a pipeline all the way from Split Rock to Manilla.
However, he admitted it would be a long way in the future before such a large-scale project came to fruition.