MANILLA residents have been told they might notice "some difference in water taste" after the town's water source was switched from the Namoi River to the Manilla River on Monday.
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The comment was made by Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray, as he announced the $20 million Manilla Water Treatment Plant had officially been commissioned.
There is still around three months left of works to be completed before the project is finished, but Cr Murray described it as a major milestone nonetheless.
"This is one of our major projects that has been funded by the council and by the community and those funds have been put aside through funding strategies for many years in anticipation of today," he said.
Cr Murray also hopes the construction of the water treatment plant facility will go some way to dampening criticisms that the council is too Tamworth-centric.
"There will always be levels of criticism around, but the important thing for council is we get the important infrastructure right, this project here is very important for a growing town like Manilla," he said.
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"And whilst it's an awful lot of money it's the last one of our suite of water facilities. We've had new water treatment plants at Manilla, at Nundle, a new one at Barraba."
"And I think that's the important part for council, it's not so much about what the community may or may not think is important, it's really about getting these fundamental standards met so people are safe and secure with high quality water.
The state government contributed $3.6 million to the project, and Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson was glad to see it reach a new milestone.
He said everyone should have a right to access clean and running water, and the project was an example that "Manilla matters" to him, and that the state government cares about regional economies.
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