Farmers with multiple properties will be able to access bulk water after one councillor called for a change in the current policy.
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Tamworth councillor Jim Maxwell successfully passed a notice of motion which will see farmers with more than one property gain access to additional "drought relief cards".
The cards give landholders access to a free weekly allocation of 3000 litres of town water from the council's bulk water filling stations.
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Mayor Col Murray said it was a more equitable version of an earlier policy even though it supports a small number of people in the community who own multiple properties.
"I would argue that this makes it more equitable," Cr Murray said.
"They get similar access to water, they have more properties, they have more livestock, they have much greater need than a single property owner in general."
The mayor said the original policy had an "anomaly".
"In our original policy, the availability to water was attached to the landowner and not necessarily the property," he said.
In his submission to council, Cr Maxwell said there were some property owners who were forced to divvy their 3000 litre allotment between their multiple properties.
"If the properties were separately owned, then council would have issued two cards and allowed the dispensing of up to 3,000 litres of water per week, for free, for use at both properties," he said.
"Based on this it would seem unjustifiable to preclude the issue of more than one free card to property owners if they own more then one qualifying property."
The original policy was passed in March.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
