TAMWORTH Regional Council will begin to look even deeper for solutions to the region's water woes.
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Water security is certain to dominate the council's agenda in 2020 with dam supplies running low and an untested emergency pipeline established to prolong what's left.
However, the mayor has suggested groundwater could play a bigger role in the city's supply in to the future.
Col Murray said the council would be investigating "fractured rock aquifers" in the coming months.
According to Geoscience Australia, "groundwater is stored in the fractures, joints, bedding planes and cavities of the rock mass" in these aquifers.
The federal government body claims "about 40 per cent of groundwater in Australia is stored in fractured rock aquifers".
"It is something we will need to look at," Cr Murray told the Leader.
Tamworth city has largely relied on surface water supplies from Chaffey Dam and, to a lesser extent, Dungowan Dam.
While the council doesn't control the water in Chaffey Dam, the rapid depletion of the supply has seen tough level 5 water restrictions in effect for months.
However, neighbouring, smaller, communities such as Gunnedah and the Liverpool Plains shires are more reliant on groundwater supplies and have enforced lesser restrictions to date.
Level 1 restrictions were only introduced in Gunnedah on January 1.
One of the region's joint organisations of councils, Namoi Unlimited, recently did a detailed analysis of water supplies in the area.
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The "Water for the Future" strategy listed two shires as particularly "resilient" in terms of water security.
"Some of the urban centres, such as Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains[local government areas], are more resilient to dry periods due to their groundwater supplies," the report said.
"Tamworth LGA has some resilience due to the relatively large storage at Chaffey and other supplies and provides some buffer for shorter dry periods."
Gunnedah's supply is still meeting demand, but acting mayor Rob Hooke said it was time to step up conservation following two of the driest years on record.
"We are extremely fortunate to have a good supply of quality bore water in Gunnedah," he said.
"But this unprecedented drought means all of us need to look at the conservation of this most precious resource and be proactive in ensuring water is still available for our children and our children's children."
While Tamworth's neighbours appear to be in a better position with its bores, blocking the Peel River might pose an issue for a groundwater solution.
It was revealed one of Tamworth Regional Council's back-up supplies, the Paradise Wells, had been under-performing since the river's flow came to a halt.
Tamworth's mayor said much would be learnt in the coming months with regards to the city's alternative supplies.
"There's a few balls in the air at the moment when it comes to river management as we learn how the river works for transporting water and how inefficient it is; how real those losses are," he said.
"Also, once we get to one of the real pivotal points which is when the pipeline is operational ...we will learn a lot about the groundwater in the valley."
The 18.2 kilometre Chaffey pipeline is due to be completed by the end of February.
Cr Murray said the council's bore in Bendemeer had been fairly reliable since it was established.
The council had to spend $215,000 water treatment system on the bore after naturally occurring uranium was found in the supply.
But the mayor said it had been "working well" since then.
He said some poultry industry operators were "getting towards sustainable with their initiatives" including some "very deep bores".