Council's manager of water and environmental operations, Dan Coe, says the newly-installed technology at the Westdale Wastewater Treatment Plant will save the local government around $300,000 across a three-year project.

"That will go back into the sewer reserves, and the less money we spend, the more we can keep people's costs down on our waste and water charges," Mr Coe said.

Mr Coe said another possibility for the money saved would be re-investing it into other waste and water initiatives, which would also save ratepayers money on their bills in the long run.

The unexpected windfall will not have an effect on council's application for a 36.3 per cent special rate variation.

Every two to three years Tamworth Regional Council reviews its process of de-watering sewage.

Mr Coe says when council brought the process to tender this year, they received an unexpected offer from a company called Sludge Processing Solutions.

The company offered to set up an array of GeoTubes - large bags designed to dehydrate processed sludge - at a much lower cost than the centrifuges council used to dry the waste with.

"It's not a new technology, but this is the first time it's been cost-efficient for council to use it on this scale," Mr Coe said.

"Basically what happens is the sludge gets pumped into the tubes, we leave it there for six to 12 months to dry out, and then we take it to the Tamworth Effluent Reuse Farm to be incorporated as a soil improver."

The field of GeoTubes took four months to install and Mr Coe says they'll be a win for the environment, for the agriculture sector, and for ratepayers.

The new GeoTubes were unveiled less than two months after council approved a $17,600 research trip for a member of staff to attend a water recycling symposium in Denver, USA.

The Leader asked whether the trip is still necessary given the cost-saving water treatment technologies Australian companies are providing to Tamworth.

"Some of those technologies around the wastewater treatment sort of things are more specialised overseas so that's why council took that opportunity," Mr Coe said.