Water Supplies

The water supply across the Tamworth local government area varies depending on your location. Water for Tamworth and the various towns and villages is sourced from three dams, five rivers and a series of local bores. Water is provided to the community through a water treatment process which, in Tamworth, takes place at the Calala Water Treatment Plant. There are also local treatment facilities in the towns and villages.

The water supply systems deliver town water to the following locations:

• Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal
• Attunga
• Barraba
• Bendemeer
• Manilla
• Nundle

Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal

The water supply for Tamworth is highly dependent on surface water sources. Tamworth uses an average of 9,200 megalitres of water per year, with most of the supply sourced from Chaffey Dam and Dungowan Dam.

Chaffey Dam is used as the main water source when Dungowan Dam falls below 50% capacity, with storage remaining in Dungowan Dam reserved as an emergency backup.

Tamworth Regional Council holds 16,400 megalitres of local water utility entitlement in the Peel Regulated River system and 5,600 megalitres of entitlement from Dungowan Dam.

We also have a small groundwater entitlement, which is primarily used for watering our public open spaces.

Tamworth Water Security Plan

Water is essential for our community to thrive, and Tamworth is a growing regional centre with a diverse economy supporting strong education and employment opportunities.

Our water supply is dependent on the weather. During periods of rain, our water system works well, however during periods of drought our system is vulnerable. Without rain, our dams can deplete quickly.

Running out of water is not an option and although future periods of water restrictions are inevitable, we can’t continue to sustain extended periods of managing our demand through rolling water restrictions.

The water security planning project that is now underway will investigate all the supply and demand options available and come up with a plan that works for all of us. Our community should have confidence in Tamworth’s water security, knowing restrictions will be less frequent with long term planning in place.  

We are developing the Tamworth Water Security Plan for Tamworth and Moonbi/Kootingal, find out more.

Chaffey Dam

Chaffey Dam is owned and operated by the NSW Government. It has a maximum capacity of 62,000 megalitres. We are one of a number of users with an entitlement to access water from the dam. We need to order water from the dam to be released into the Peel River and this water is extracted from the river at the Peel River pump station at a rate of 20 – 60 megalitres per day. From here, the water is piped to the Calala Water Treatment Plant before being pumped to the water reservoirs throughout the town and piped to our community.

Chaffey Dam was connected to the Dungowan Pipeline at Dungowan Village in 2019 to minimise transmission loss that occurs with river water transfers during severe drought periods.

Dungowan Dam

We own and operate Dungowan Dam and it has a maximum capacity of 6,000 megalitres. The dam was built in the late 1950s and is fed by two main creeks, Lever Creek and Dungowan Creek, and supplies up to 22 megalitres per day to Tamworth via the Dungowan Pipeline .

Environmental flows are released to Dungowan Creek downstream of the dam to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Paradise Drift Wells

We use water from the Paradise Drift Wells as a backup supply. There are six groundwater wells at this location adjacent to the Peel River. Up to 10 megalitres a day can be accessed from these wells.

Attunga

Attunga water supply is sourced from groundwater bores adjacent to the Peel River.

Barraba

Barraba water supply is sourced from Split Rock Dam via a pipeline, with backup supply from groundwater.

Bendemeer

Bendemeer water supply is sourced from the MacDonald River, with backup supply from groundwater.

Manilla

Manilla water supply is sourced from the Manilla Weir on the Namoi River and is supplemented with water sourced from the Manilla River, which requires releases from Split Rock Dam.

Nundle

Nundle water supply is sourced from the Peel River, with backup supply from groundwater.

Current dam levels

Please see below current dam levels for our region:

For real-time and historical data for Chaffey Dam and Split Rock Dam click here.

For historical data for Dungowan Dam, please contact us.

Dam System Safety

Each year we prepare dam safety standards reports for each of our dams, demonstrating compliance with dam safety standards. Follow the links below for the most recent Dam Safety Standards Reports.

Annual Dam Safety Standards Report - Dungowan (PDF 69.1KB)

Annual Dam Safety Standards Report - Connors Creek  (PDF 69KB)

Annual Dam Safety Standards Report - Calala (PDF 69KB)

Our Water Quality

Water is essential for health, hygiene and the productivity of our community. Across the LGA, we can produce more than 50 million litres of high quality drinking water per day. Each system undergoes a rigorous water quality testing program from its source water to our customer’s tap. To learn more about our water quality control check out our Water Quality Control Factsheet. (PDF 2.2MB)

Water quality can vary significantly, particularly water hardness, as our water comes from a range of sources. Hardness refers to the amount of calcium and magnesium salts in water. These natural minerals are dissolved as water moves through soil and rock and cannot be removed by filtration. Groundwater, or bore water, is often higher in hardness as it has been in contact with rocks underground long enough for minerals to dissolve.

Surface water from rivers and dams is often softer because it has not been in contact with rocks for long enough for the minerals to dissolve. Seasonal variations in hardness can also occur.

To learn more about water hardness check out our Water Hardness Factsheet. (PDF 549.2KB)

Drinking Water Guidelines

Your drinking water is safe

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) specify the limits for per and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
 
PFAS are a family of man-made chemicals that have been used widely in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s. PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonate) belong to this group of chemicals. PFAS are emerging contaminants that are persistent in the environment, and are commonly found in and around populated areas throughout Australia and internationally.
 
Council understands that the NHMRC is conducting an independent review of the health-based guideline values for PFAS which is expected to be completed in late 2024 early 2025.
 
The current health-based guideline values for PFAS in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines are: 

• less than 0.07 micrograms per litre for the sum of PFOS and PFHxS (combined)
• less than 0.56 micrograms per litre for PFOA 

As per the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, Tamworth Regional Council undertakes raw water source or catchment risk assessments to consider water quality risks for all of its water supplies in consultation with NSW Health and other NSW Government Agencies.   

There have been no identified source risks for historical use of PFAS within Council’s water catchments.

Council undertakes regular monitoring of all raw water supply sources in accordance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Sampling and testing for PFAS is undertaken annually for all of Council’s raw water supplies. All sampling undertaken by Council has not detected any PFAS compounds in any of Council’s raw water supplies i.e. all results for PFAS analysis have been below the laboratory detectable limits.  The latest sampling/test results were undertaken in June/July 2024.