A raft of water saving measures are being proposed for the NSW regional city of Tamworth, including purified recycled water, after plans for a new dam and pipeline were sunk by a lack of funding.
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Water Minister Rose Jackson says it's imperative the area is better prepared when the next drought hits - with much drier conditions forecast as early as the end of this year.
"The 2017-2020 drought was a major wake-up call and taught us a great deal about managing our water resources," Ms Jackson said on Thursday.
"We need to put these lessons to good use in preparing the region for the next dry spell."
The government scrapped the Dungowan Dam and pipeline project last month, which would have bolstered Tamworth's water supply, citing cost blowouts of nearly $1 billion after federal funding fell through.
Alternative drought-busting strategies include purified recycled waste water and advanced water treatment plants for industrial re-use.
Other possibilities open for investigation include new inter-valley pipelines linking Tamworth with Keepit Dam, Split Rock Dam and the Manning Valley, or the construction of a new 10 gigalitre off-river storage at Piallamore.
"There is also a list of water efficiency and demand management options that could be implemented fairly quickly including fixing leaking pipes and old meters to make water supplies go further," Ms Jackson said.
The measures fall under the newly launched Namoi Regional Water Strategy, which first opened for public consultation in March 2021 and has taken input from Aboriginal communities, residents, farmers, businesses, stakeholder groups, and councils.
Ms Jackson said the strategy presents a list of the 27 best short, medium and long term options to bolster Tamworth's drought resilience over the next two decades.
Draft versions of the strategy cited several potential barriers to introducing recycled water including regulatory processes and community acceptance, noting no decision on purified recycled water will be taken without extensive community consultation.
The strategy is considered to be a potential roadmap for increasing water supply to Gunnedah, Narrabri, Walgett, Wee Waa, Manilla, Quirindi, Walcha and the rest of the region.
"I want to be clear that whatever decisions we make will be based 100 per cent on evidence including state-of-the-art climate modelling, so we are making the most of the water we have while finding new ways to increase supply," Ms Jackson said.
Australian Associated Press
