As locals unwrapped gifts on Christmas morning, a present for the whole city was delivered from the skies above when Chaffey Dam's water level crept over 40 per cent full.
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The milestone was reached just after Santa delivered his presents across the city, with the dam hovering at 40.1 per cent by 7am.
Under Tamworth Regional Council's drought management plan, 40 per cent full is the trigger for water users in Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal to dive straight back to Level 1 water rules.
Council announced changes to water rules would come into play from January 4 next year, but are set to make an official confirmation early next week.
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It's been raining - and sometimes pouring - regularly this year, soaking the Chaffey Dam catchment and allowing the supply to begin recovering from the big dry.
Tamworth's wettest year in a decade and some big storms scattered throughout 2020 has seen the dam surge past promising milestones.
Chaffey Dam is Tamworth's main water supply and started the year at a lowly 13 per cent full, with the city's residents on severe Level 5 water restrictions.
After the devastating dry spell for the dam, the supply is now holding in excess of 26,000ML more water than it was on January 1 - the equivalent of close to 10,500 Olympic swimming pools.
Keen eyes would have noticed the dam had risen in height by seven metres.
Environmental flows of 3ML per day continue to wash down the Peel River and the brand new pipeline is no longer in action.
The Bureau of Meteorology station at the head of the Peel River near Nundle has recorded a total rain tally for the year of more than 1362mm, as at Christmas Eve.
That's more than triple what the gauge caught last year.