Water security has never been more important for the region, which is why Tamworth Regional Council is considering a 10 year funding commitment for research aimed at strengthening water security.
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Council was approached to see if they were keen on funding one or two Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs), researching water security and the Murray-Darling Basin respectively.
Councillors decide at Tuesday night's ordinary meeting whether to give each project $10,000 every year for 10 years, or one over the other.
The report submitted for consideration calls council to action, saying it couldn't "sit on the sidelines" and let others find the solutions to their problems..
"[T]hose problems will only be solved by examining and instituting a range of measures," it reads.
"Council may like to consider whether it wishes to sit on the sidelines or be part of the effort, however small, to identify and implement efficient and effective measures to address water security into the future."
The CRC Program is the Commonwealth Government's largest single program for industry, and 226 of them have been funded to date.
They work as collaborations between industry, researchers and the community, focusing on research and development which will have commercial uses, looking to improve the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries.
The recommendation to council is to get behind the 'Water Security' CRC, as it's "more closely aligned with Council's present issues of additional water security for towns and villages."
The report notes while the 'One Basin' CRC's agricultural focus is still relevant to the region, water security is of more "immediate concern".
Especially for Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal, but is of significant concern for all towns and villages across council's area.
The report details the benefits which may occur directly from funding this research, with the first being part of a collaboration giving access to an expected $100 million to $150 million of resources.
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The program would also provide council with access to high quality 'impactful' research and translation, and the opportunity to build valuable networks, as well as having access to the collection of Australia's world-leading researchers.
It notes there may be the chance for council to influence the direction of these resources and stand at the forefront of development in the sector.
However the extent of this influence is unknown, however funding would be on a much lower scale than other contributors, so it's expected this influence would be minimal.
