TAMWORTH council could build its own pipeline with questions now raised over Manilla's water security.
The council will vote on a $850,000 Manilla River pipeline with current water releases putting Split Rock Dam on course to hit "dead storage" by April next year.
"Manilla is of primary concern for council as the primary water source for Manilla (Namoi River) currently has no flow and as such, Council is reliant upon the Manilla River (Split Rock Dam release) water source," Tamworth Regional Council water and waste manager Dan Coe said in his report.
"Should Split Rock Dam reach dead storage, council would not have a reliable source of water for Manilla."
The council has written to the state government and requested Split Rock be maintained a "sufficient" level of water to supply Manilla and Barraba for "two years in the event of no inflow".
"Council has estimated this volume to be in the order of three gigalitres above dead storage," Mr Coe's report said.
The government has not responded.
The $850,000 pipeline will take water from the Manilla River to the Namoi River weir.
The new pipeline has a capacity of four megalitres a day in comparison to the existing pipeline capacity of one megalitre per day.
The council has also been asked to vote on a bid to purchase an additional 50 megalitres of high security water from the dam for Manilla and Barraba supplies.
This volume comes with a $30,000 price tag.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
