WE KNOW it as Tamworth's main water supply, and the rules and restrictions we live by are based off it rising and falling.
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But Tamworth residents haven't been drinking water from Chaffey Dam for months, and council wants to keep it that way for as long as it possibly can.
After the dam rocketed past 20 per cent capacity earlier in the year, the new pipeline from Chaffey Dam to Dungown was cut off, meaning any water ordered from the dam now would have to flow down the Peel River and cop some transmission losses.
Rainfall has filled dams and brought rivers back to life, allowing Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) to pump the town's water from Dungowan Dam and more recently, the Peel River.
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But, a dry November followed by a scorching heatwave means other plans had to be put in place to make sure the precious resource stays plugged in Chaffey Dam.
TRC water and waste manager Bruce Logan said the Peel River had shriveled in the dry.
"We no longer are taking water from the Peel River for Tamworth's supply, we've reverted to Dungowan Dam and the pipeline, and we'll continue to do that," Mr Logan told the Leader.
Council can only pump 20ML per day from Dungowan Dam down the pipeline, but water use soared up to about 26ML per day last week as sweltering residents tried to keep cool.
"We are looking to make up that difference through the Scott Road Drift Wells, and we'll continue to do that for as long as we can," Mr Logan explained.
"The consumption is ... around 26ML a day in Tamworth and that's probably too much for us to maintain supply from the Scott Road Drift Wells."
Mr Logan said there has got to be a balancing act between staving off the heat, and keeping healthy and being mindful of water security.
If consumption stays above the Level 3 target of 21ML per day, council will be forced to tap into Chaffey Dam as a last resort.
"We'll have to start ordering water from Chaffey Dam ... and start releasing water into the Peel River so we can draw it from the Peel River pump station," Mr Logan said.
"We don't want to do that because it means we will start to see the storage in Chaffey reducing and we'd like to hold off as long as we can, so we do need to see consumption drop."
Chaffey Dam is hovering around 33 per cent capacity.
Environmental flows mean 3ML per day is still being released down the Peel.