Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) will join Walcha in a trial to see if recycled water can be used to maintain gravel roads.

If approved, it poses a huge potential financial saving for TRC, mayor Col Murray said.

"It gets to the point when it's extremely dry that we have to cart water from in town to far flung areas around the region in the drought trying to get some maintenance on the roads," he said.

"It's counter-productive to grade them without water to manage them."

When the rivers and dams are full, often local farmers will offer up their dams for the council to draw water - but when water availability is under stress bore water is the only solution.

TRC uses water from its wastewater treatment plant at the Effluent Reuse Farm under strict Environmental Protection Authority conditions.

Whatever water can't be used is returned to the river.

Namoi Unlimited, a group of five regional councils, was given a grant from the state government to the tune of $285,000 for the trial.

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There are six parts to the project; a review of how recycled water is used globally; a community survey; the approval process to conduct the trial; the pilot in both Tamworth and Walcha; mitigation tools to manage the use of recycled water on gravel roads and reports after the project.

Namoi Unlimited will meet with NSW Health and Water representatives at the end of the month to seek approval for the trial, executive officer Rebel Thompson said.

"We are unable to commence the pilot without this approval," she said.

The project has attracted interest from a number of local government areas seeking to use recycled water.