About
Water is essential for our community to thrive. Tamworth Regional Council is developing a water security plan to ensure we have a water system that meets the needs of our growing community.
We have investigated a range of resilient water options and there is now a filtered list of options being considered for inclusion in the Tamworth Water Security Plan (TWSP). Options being considered have been grouped into four categories; surface water, groundwater, water recycling and water efficiency and we are keen to hear your feedback about them.
Surface water options
- Chaffey Dam operations
- Connect our supply to Namoi Valley dams
- Off-river storage near Tamworth
Recycled water options
- For non-drinking end uses such and industrial and commercial use, toilet flushing and irrigation
- Purified recycled water for drinking
Groundwater options
- From the Peel Valley
- From other regions
Water efficiency
- Continuing positive water behaviour
Phase two engagement now closed
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Phase Two engagement we appreciate your involvement in the 💧 Talkin’ Water discussions.
We’re now in the process of reviewing all the contributions and working on the engagement report. Check back here soon to read the report.
Background
Our current system
Our water supply is currently dependent on the weather. During periods of average rainfall our water system works well, however during periods of extended drought our system is vulnerable. We need to plan for Tamworth’s growth with a water supply system that is reliable and sustainable. This means investigating supply and demand options, so we are less reliant on weather.
The project is investigating all the supply and demand options available for Tamworth and Moonbi/Kootingal to come up with a plan that works for all of us. The remaining areas of the LGA will be investigated separately.
Engagement will occur over three phases
Phase one – May to August 2024
Phase one is now closed. The engagement report is available in the document library.
Phase two – September to December 2024
Phase two community engagement is now closed. This phase was about sharing information with you about options being considered for inclusion in the draft TWSP and listening to your feedback. Fact sheets about each of the options are available in the document library and below in the fact sheet section on this page.
We started with a long list of many options and through detailed investigations and analysis are now able to present a filtered list of options. The ones being presented:
- best meet our primary objective of improving water security
- rate strongly in our secondary objectives of being deliverable while providing resilience and managing environmental and social impacts
Phase three – Mid 2025
Phase three will be the public exhibition of the draft plan; this will happen in mid - 2025.
Leave your feedback
We would love to hear back from you about the water security options.
Fact sheets
Here are the water security fact sheets for surface water, groundwater, recycled water and water efficiency options.
